Newsletter No. 1429
News-Analysis
August 3, 2009

 

TOKYO WELCOMES ELECTION OF FORMER MAURITANIAN COUP LEADER

In mid-July, Mauritania held elections leading to the victory of Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz, the army general who led a successful coup against a democratic government in August 2008. Officially, Abdelaziz won 52% of the vote against three opposition rivals; but some contend that the election results may have been manipulated. Former President Sidi Mohamed Ould Cheikh Abdallahi was not a candidate this time.

The MOFA statement below is a celebration. Tokyo is clearly taking the view that the elections were fair and the process democratic.

President-elect Abdelaziz has sent out mixed signals about what kind of foreign policies he intends to pursue. It seems that his preference had been to form an “anti-terrorism” alliance with the United States, but that he was offended when Washington declined to accept his coup last August. He then began to embrace an anti-American line. Messaoud Ould Boulkheir, who is now the leading figure of the political opposition, figures that Abdelaziz is, in fact, not an ideologue of any sort; but really just an opportunist. Based on his record over the past year, that may be pretty accurate.

Statement by Press Secretary on the Presidential Election in the Islamic Republic of Mauritania
July 31, 2009

1. On July 23, H.E. Mr. Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz was formally elected as the next President of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania following the Presidential election held on July 18. Japan welcomes the restoration of constitutional order in the country.

2. The Government of Japan strongly hopes that the government and the people of Mauritania will work to consolidate democracy and promote steady social and economic development under the new President-elect Abdel Aziz.

3. The Government of Japan would also like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the roles played by the Republic of Senegal and the international contact group, including the AU, in helping Mauritania to overcome the political crisis following the coup d'etat which took place in August 2008.