2023 Mauritanian parliamentary election

Elections happened in Mauritania on 13 May 2023 and 27 May 2023. These elections happened to pick who was in the parliament. Elections for the leaders of municipalities and provinces happened too.

13 May 2023 (first round) 27 May 2023 (second round)
All 176 seats in the National Assembly 89 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	71.59% ( 0.87%)
Party Leader % Seats ± El Insaf Mohamed Melainine O. Eyih 35.26 107 Tewassoul Hamadi Ould Sidi Mokhtar 10.25 11 UDP Naha Mint Mouknass 6.06 10 Hope Mauritania Collective leadership 3.33 7 AND Yacoub Ould Moine 3.30 6 El Islah Mohamed Ould Talebna 3.28 6 Sawab+ Abdel Salem Ould Horma 4.10 5 AJD/MR+ Ibrahima Moctar Sarr 2.18 4 El Karama Cheikhna Ould Hajbou 2.62 5 Nida El Watan Daoud Ould Ahmed Aicha 2.50 5 Mauritanian Party of Union and Change Saleh Ould Hanenna 2.90 3 Party of Conciliation and Prosperity Valle Mint Mini 2.08 3 El Vadila Ethmane Ould Eboul Mealy 1.78 2 Party of the Mauritanian Masses El Khalil Ould Ennahoui 2.08 1 UPC+ Collective leadership 1.55 1 This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.
Winner by wilaya (national list)
Prime Minister before Prime Minister-designate Mohamed Ould Bilal El Insaf Mohamed Ould Bilal El Insaf

These were the first parliamentary elections after the 2019 presidential election. That election was the first time the president of Mauritania changed without a coup happening.

Behavior

CENI said while looking at the votes that it saw that someone messed with them in the El Mina department of Nouakchott. Some votes were moved from the null and neutral cards to one of the candidates. They said that they fixed it. Judicial procedures had happened after a candidate said that they did not like the results.^[1]

Results

Overall

Party		National PR list				Total
		Votes	%	Seats	±	Seats	±
	El Insaf	342,153	35.26%	7	+3	107	+14
	National Rally for Reform and Development (Tewassoul)	99,475	10.25%	2	-1	11	-3
	Union for Democracy and Progress (UDP)	58,823	6.06%	1	=	10	+4
	Sawab and allies (Sawab+)	39,807	4.10%	1	=	5	+2
	Republican Front for Unity and Democracy and allies (Hope Mauritania)	32,315	3.33%	1	New	7	New
	National Democratic Alliance (AND)	31,987	3.30%	1	=	6	+2
	El Islah	31,854	3.28%	1	+1	6	+5
	Mauritanian Party of Union and Change (HATEM)	28,124	2.90%	1	+1	3	+2
	El Karama	25,437	2.62%	1	=	5	-1
	Nida El Watan	24,268	2.50%	1	+1	5	+5
	Alliance for Justice and Democracy/Movement for Renewal and allies (AJD/MR+)	21,163	2.18%	1	+1	4	+3
	Party of Conciliation and Prosperity (HIWAR)	20,206	2.08%	1	=	3	+2
	Party of the Mauritanian Masses (PMM)	20,187	2.08%	1	+1	1	+1
	Republican Party for Democracy and Renewal (PRDR)	19,110	1.97%	0	=	0	=
	Union of the Forces of Progress (UFP)	17,387	1.79%	0	-1	0	-3
	El Vadila	17,301	1.78%	0	=	2	+2
	Party of Unity and Development (PUD)	16,129	1.66%	0	=	0	=
	Union for Planning and Building and allies (State of Justice)	15,028	1.55%	0	=	1	+1
	Rally of Democratic Forces (RFD)	14,652	1.51%	0	-1	0	-3
	Burst of Youth for the Nation (PSJN)	14,345	1.48%	0	-1	0	-3
	El Ravah	13,858	1.43%	0	=	0	=
	People's Progressive Alliance (APP)	12,115	1.25%	0	-1	0	-3
	National Cohesion for Rights and the Construction of Generations (Ribat)	10,418	1.07%	0	=	0	=
	Party of Construction and Progress (PCP)	9,293	0.96%	0	=	0	=
	Centre through Action for Progress (CAP)	8,813	0.91%	0	New	0	New
Blank votes		26,250	2.70%
Valid votes		970,498	75.88%
Null votes		308,490	24.12%
Seats				20	=	176	+19
Turnout		1,278,988	71.59%
Abstentions		507,460	28.41%
Registered voters		1,786,448
Source: National Independent Election Commission (CENI)[2]

Popular vote (national list) El Insaf   35.26% Tewassoul   10.25% UDP   6.06% Sawab+   4.10% Hope Mauritania   3.33% AND   3.30% El Islah   3.28% HATEM   2.90% El Karama   2.62% Nida El Watan   2.50% AJD/MR+   2.18% HIWAR   2.08% PMM   2.08% El Vadila   1.78% State of Justice   1.55% Others   14.03% Blank votes   2.70%

Valid votes (national list) Valid   75.88% Null   24.12%

National list results' per wilaya

Party		AD	AS	BR	DN	GO	GU	HC	HG	IN	NN	NO	NS	TA	TZ	TR	XM	MRT
			El Insaf	37.42%	33.59%	37.54%	23.41%	28.49%	29.25%	40.13%	30.02%	46.30%	28.41%	26.00%	37.87%	49.67%	30.17%	48.70%	20.04%	35.26%
	Tewassoul	7.61%	17.13%	6.34%	7.93%	4.02%	6.18%	9.16%	13.33%	6.30%	16.32%	10.90%	14.26%	6.42%	10.71%	10.07%	20.25%	10.25%
	UDP	2.32%	2.19%	4.08%	4.07%	15.54%	25.50%	10.35%	6.60%	8.02%	2.71%	2.74%	1.82%	3.60%	4.87%	0.90%	4.03%	6.06%
	Sawab+	1.96%	2.86%	1.88%	5.59%	3.75%	13.39%	1.55%	1.15%	2.72%	5.28%	3.98%	5.65%	0.88%	3.30%	4.86%	13.83%	4.10%
	Hope Mauritania	1.03%	0.79%	4.93%	4.77%	3.04%	1.55%	0.47%	0.77%	1.20%	3.84%	6.67%	8.02%	0.59%	8.73%	3.14%	5.50%	3.33%
	AND	2.22%	2.79%	1.01%	2.91%	6.26%	6.51%	2.59%	0.87%	2.76%	7.08%	4.50%	1.78%	1.99%	1.63%	3.55%	1.58%	3.30%
	El Islah	13.26%	3.34%	1.71%	2.17%	1.54%	0.48%	4.70%	5.34%	2.08%	2.80%	4.24%	2.15%	3.11%	10.71%	2.35%	2.65%	3.28%
	HATEM	1.76%	3.37%	0.98%	3.03%	0.38%	0.35%	5.74%	11.79%	1.54%	2.18%	2.07%	3.41%	1.43%	3.01%	1.32%	1.49%	2.90%
	El Karama	0.62%	0.46%	5.55%	13.07%	8.99%	0.96%	1.22%	1.35%	0.51%	0.94%	1.14%	1.67%	0.45%	0.37%	0.56%	1.05%	2.62%
	Nida El Watan	0.69%	8.03%	0.59%	0.73%	0.75%	0.24%	2.64%	7.00%	1.29%	1.32%	3.01%	1.31%	0.63%	1.12%	2.79%	1.35%	2.50%
	AJD/MR+	0.37%	0.23%	6.50%	5.71%	4.42%	0.61%	0.15%	0.15%	1.46%	0.89%	3.08%	3.26%	0.09%	2.00%	0.35%	9.88%	2.18%
	HIWAR	6.48%	3.87%	3.44%	2.20%	1.76%	1.62%	3.10%	1.71%	1.85%	0.88%	0.60%	0.77%	0.88%	2.08%	1.41%	0.67%	2.08%
	PMM	3.87%	1.54%	0.66%	1.29%	0.46%	0.56%	1.97%	3.65%	1.26%	2.41%	4.07%	1.39%	1.43%	3.43%	3.35%	1.23%	2.08%
	PRDR	1.06%	5.70%	1.38%	2.38%	4.74%	0.18%	0.63%	1.93%	1.12%	1.97%	1.39%	0.94%	1.51%	0.94%	1.53%	1.10%	1.97%
	UFP	1.79%	2.97%	1.76%	1.69%	3.18%	1.41%	0.93%	1.04%	1.38%	2.02%	2.31%	1.91%	2.90%	1.58%	0.86%	1.16%	1.79%
	El Vadila	1.08%	2.13%	4.44%	0.81%	1.29%	2.37%	1.08%	2.27%	0.60%	1.82%	1.05%	0.99%	2.13%	1.53%	0.87%	1.81%	1.78%
	PUD	1.32%	0.65%	4.26%	0.99%	1.15%	0.42%	0.79%	3.40%	0.62%	1.93%	2.73%	0.83%	2.37%	0.70%	0.51%	1.63%	1.66%
	State of Justice	2.47%	0.73%	0.54%	1.95%	0.30%	0.27%	0.96%	0.81%	1.55%	2.38%	5.36%	1.75%	2.05%	2.24%	1.71%	2.35%	1.55%
	RFD	0.83%	0.61%	1.23%	3.68%	0.67%	0.14%	1.48%	0.90%	1.47%	2.89%	2.51%	1.09%	2.76%	1.09%	1.86%	3.23%	1.51%
	PSJN	1.89%	1.39%	3.64%	1.31%	4.61%	0.43%	0.94%	0.46%	0.46%	1.33%	0.89%	0.62%	1.55%	0.82%	0.32%	0.38%	1.48%
	El Ravah	2.94%	0.66%	0.98%	1.25%	0.36%	1.14%	1.28%	0.75%	1.00%	1.37%	1.51%	0.96%	10.04%	0.53%	1.54%	0.92%	1.43%
	APP	1.27%	0.56%	1.95%	1.47%	0.85%	1.77%	1.01%	0.55%	0.46%	1.91%	0.98%	2.58%	1.07%	2.52%	0.72%	0.67%	1.25%
	Ribat	1.45%	0.25%	0.41%	3.39%	0.31%	0.52%	0.91%	0.30%	10.62%	2.59%	2.39%	0.95%	0.57%	2.30%	0.45%	0.85%	1.07%
	PCP	0.72%	1.38%	1.13%	0.88%	0.60%	0.23%	1.19%	1.37%	0.57%	1.64%	1.33%	0.86%	0.42%	0.50%	0.61%	0.52%	0.96%
	CAP	0.33%	0.25%	0.23%	0.56%	0.45%	0.31%	0.25%	0.24%	0.30%	0.65%	1.18%	0.71%	0.19%	0.38%	3.75%	0.14%	0.91%
Blank votes		3.24%	2.53%	2.84%	2.76%	2.09%	3.61%	4.78%	2.25%	2.56%	2.44%	3.37%	2.45%	1.27%	2.74%	1.92%	1.69%	2.70%
Valid votes		81.73%	64.79%	79.47%	86.82%	76.72%	78.37%	51.47%	67.24%	85.86%	85.33%	85.43%	85.76%	77.95%	86.63%	86.10%	86.30%	75.88%
Null votes		18.27%	35.21%	20.53%	13.18%	23.28%	21.63%	48.53%	32.76%	14.14%	14.67%	14.57%	14.24%	22.05%	13.37%	13.90%	13.70%	24.12%
Turnout		71.27%	73.41%	76.82%	69.64%	77.37%	81.74%	75.69%	77.23%	61.24%	61.22%	61.46%	66.83%	74.15%	71.33%	67.58%	62.49%	71.59%
Abstentions		28.73%	26.59%	23.18%	30.36%	22.63%	18.26%	24.31%	22.77%	38.76%	38.78%	38.54%	33.17%	25.85%	28.67%	32.42%	37.51%	28.41%
Registered voters		53,331	164,442	180,078	66,423	135,491	91,826	198,099	152,255	19,789	120,387	141,914	119,367	55,836	28,182	236,739	22,289	1,786,448
Source: National Independent Election Commission (CENI)[2]

Aftermath

Election of the President of the National Assembly

The election of the President of the National Assembly happened on 19 June 2023. Mohamed Bemba Meguett was picked in the first round.^[3]

Candidate		Party	Votes obtained
Required majority →			89 out of 176
	Mohamed Bemba Meguett	El Insaf	137 Y
	Ahmedou Mohamed Mahfoudh M'Balla	Tewassoul	27 N
	Abstentions		2
	Null votes		3
Absentees			7

Arrest of Biram Dah Abeid

Biram Dah Abeid was arrested on 24 May. He was the leader of the Democratic Alternation Coalition and re-elected deputy for Sawab+.^[4] He was arrested because he said that if the results of the elections are accepted, then "the free Mauritanians will carry weapons against the current regime" during a rally the day before. He also said in his speech that he was "committed to peace" but that he "wouldn't lie to the Mauritanian people" and that "election fraud was the reason the army couped former president Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya".^[5]

Opposition parties RAG,^[6] Sawab,^[7] Hope Mauritania,^[8] the Union of the Forces of Progress,^[9] the Rally of Democratic Forces,^[9] and the People's Progressive Alliance said that the arrest was bad.^[9]

References

1. "لجنة الانتخابات: حصل تلاعب في نتائج الميناء وصحح وأحيل للقضاء" [Election Commission: There was a manipulation of the results of El Mina, which were corrected and referred to the judiciary]. AlAkhbar.info (in Arabic). 19 May 2023. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
2. "My CENI Résultats 2023". res-myceni.org (in Arabic and French). National Independent Election Commission. Retrieved 2023-06-01.
3. "انتخاب ولد مكت رئيسا للبرلمان الموريتاني الجديد" [Election of Ould Meguett as President of the new Mauritanian Parliament]. AlAkhbar.info (in Arabic). 2023-06-19. Retrieved 2023-06-19.
4. "الشرطة توقف النائب البرلماني بيرام الداه اعبيدي" [The police arrested the deputy Biram Dah Abeid]. AlAkhbar.info (in Arabic). 24 May 2023. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
5. "ولد اعبيدي: إذا اعتمدت انتخابات 13 مايو فسيحمل أحرار موريتانيا السلاح (فيديو)" [Ould Abeid: If the May 13 elections are adopted, the free of Mauritania will bear arms (video)]. AlAkhbar.info (in Arabic). 23 May 2023. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
6. "ولد يالي: بيرام الداه اعبيد لم يكن يوما يريد الفتنة" [Ould Yali: Biram Dah Abeid has never wanted conflict]. AlAkhbar.info (in Arabic). 25 May 2023. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
7. "حزب الصواب يدين "التوقيف الظالم" لولد اعبيدي ويطالب بإطلاق سراحه" [Sawab condemns the "unjust arrest" of Ould Abeid and demands his release]. AlAkhbar.info (in Arabic). 25 May 2023. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
8. ""أمل موريتانيا" يندد باعتقال ولد اعبيدي ويطالب بإطلاق سراحه" [Hope Mauritania denounces the arrest of Ould Abeid and demands his release]. AlAkhbar.info (in Arabic). 25 May 2023. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
9. "المعارضة: اعتقال بيرام الداه اعبيد زيادة غير مسبوقة في حالة الاحتقان" [Opposition: Biram Dah Abeid's arrest is an unprecedented increase in congestion]. AlAkhbar.info (in Arabic). 25 May 2023. Retrieved 11 June 2023.