At stake in this election:

• The office of the President of Mauritania

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: Acting President Ba Mamadou MBARE (15 April 2009 - 5 August 2009)
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Moulaye Ould Mohamed LAGHDAF (14 August 2008 - 20 August 2014)
• Assembly: Mauritania has a bicameral Barlamane (Parliament) consisting of the Majlis al-Shuyukh (Senate) and the Al Jamiya Al Wataniya (National Assembly). There are 56 seats in the Senate and 146 in the National Assembly.

Description of electoral system:

• The president is directly elected by absolute majoirty popular vote in two rounds if needed for a 5-year term.

Main Candidates in the Presidential race:

• Mohamed Ould Abdel AZIZ 
  • Party: Union for the Republic/Union pour la Republique
• Ahmed Ould Mohameden Ould DADDAH
  • Party: Rally of Democratic Forces/Regroupement de Forces Democratiques 
• Messaoud Ould BOULKHEIR 
  • Party: Popular Alliance for Progress/Alliance Populaire pour le Progres
• Ely Mohamed Vall ELEYA
  • Party: Independent
• Mohamed Jemil Ould MANSOUR
  • Party: Independnet
• Ibrahim Moctar SARR
  • Party: Alliance for Justice and Democracy - Movement for Renewal/Alliance pour la Justice et la Democratie - Mouvement pour la Renovation
• Kane Hamidou BABA
  • Party: Independent
• Sghair Ould MBARECK
  • Party: Independent
• Saleh Ould HANANA
  • Party: Independent
• Hamdi ABdallah MEIMOU
  • Party: Independent

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 3,501,927 (2009)
• Registered Voters: 1,265,063 (2009)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 1,741,939 (2009)

·         Is Mauritania a signatory to CEDAW: No

·         Has Mauritania ratified CEDAW: Yes, accession (10 May 2001)

·         Gender Quota: Yes

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 17 Assembly (following the 2006 elections); 10 Senate (following the 2007 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 156 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Very High (2014)

Disability Data:

·         Is Mauritania a signatory to CRPD: No

·         Has Mauritania ratified CRPD: Yes, accession (3 April 2012)

·         Population with a disability: 525,289 (est.)