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Mauritania NEWS MEDIA
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Background: Independent from France in 1960, Mauritania annexed the
southern third of the former Spanish Sahara (now Western
Sahara) in 1976, but relinquished it after three years of
raids by the Polisario guerrilla front seeking independence
for the territory. Maaouya Ould Sid Ahmed TAYA seized power in
a coup in 1984. Opposition parties were legalized and a new
constitution approved in 1991. Two multiparty presidential
elections since then were widely seen as flawed, but October
2001 legislative and municipal elections were generally free
and open. A bloodless coup in August 2005 deposed President
TAYA and ushered in a military council, which declared it
would remain in power for up to two years while it created
conditions for genuine democratic institutions and organized
elections. Accordingly, parliamentary elections were held in
late 2006-early 2007 and presidential elections in March 2007.
The newly-elected legislature is expected to assume power
following the inauguration of the new president in April 2007.
The country continues to experience ethnic tensions among its
black population and different Moor (Arab-Berber) communities.
Borders: Algeria 463 km, Mali 2,237 km, Senegal 813 km, Western
Sahara 1,561 km
Population: 3,068,742
GDP per capita: $598.48 per capita
Capital with population: Nouakchott - 480,000
Largest city with population: Nouakchott - 480,000
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