IFES Election Guide - Country Profile: Mauritania

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Mauritania
Islamic Republic of Mauritania
Region: Africa

Description of government structure:

Chief of State: Acting President Ba Mamadou MBARE *
Head of Government: Prime Minister Moylaye Ould Mohamed LAGHDAF
Assembly: Mauritania has a bicameral Parliament (Barlamane) consisting of the Senate (Majlis al-Chouyoukh) with 56 seats and the National Assembly (Majlis al-Watani) with 95 seats.

* The electoral system is two-round.

Description of electoral system:

The Acting President is elected by majority vote to serve a 5-year term.
In the Senate (Majlis al-Chouyoukh), 53 members are elected by indirect vote to serve 6-year terms and 3 members are selected senators to serve 6-year terms*. In the National Assembly (Majlis al-Watani), 81 members are elected in single- and multi-member constituencies to serve 5-year terms and 14 members are elected by proportional representation to serve 5-year terms.**

* 53 members are elected by indirect vote by municipal leaders to serve 6-year terms; one-third of seats are renewed every two years.

** Party lists are closed in the ordinal tier. In the nominal tier, there are 45 constituencies of varying magnitudes. In single-member districts, the electoral system is two-round. In two-member districts, the electoral system is two-round with both seats going to a party list. In districts with three or more seats, closed list proportional representation is the electoral system.