(Aug. 22, 2017) On August 5, 2017, Mauritania held a referendum in which the country voted to change to its government structure, abolishing the Senate. (Gwenyth Gamble Jarvi, Mauritania Votes in Referendum to Abolish Senate, PAPER CHASE (Aug. 7, 2017).) Previously there was a bicameral legislature that consisted of the Senate (Majlis al-Shuyukh) and the National Assembly (Al Jamiya Al Wataniya). (U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, Mauritania, WORLD FACTBOOK (last visited Aug. 10, 2017).)
The referendum also approved the addition of red bands to the flag, which is green with a yellow crescent and star. The bands will symbolize those who sacrificed so that Mauritania could attain independence in 1960 from France, its colonial ruler. (Id.; Mauritania: UN Rights Office Voices Concern About Unrest Ahead of Constitutional Referendum, UN NEWS CENTRE (Aug. 3, 2017).)
Reactions to the Referendum
According to President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, who favored the change, governance will be improved as a result, and there will be more local forms of lawmaking. He also had called the Senate “useless and too costly.” (Mauritania Votes to Abolish Senate by Referendum, AL JAZEERA (Aug. 6, 2017).) In March of this year, the Senate had rejected a move to amend the Constitution that could have resulted in permitting Aziz to serve an additional term as president. (Id.) Aziz had become President in 2008, following a coup that he supported. (Jarvi, supra.)
Opponents of Aziz, however, advocated a boycott of the referendum and said approval of the measure would result in the president accruing too much power. A variety of leaders, including anti-slavery activists and religious conservatives, supported the boycott. (Mauritania Votes to Abolish Senate by Referendum, supra.)
Despite the opposition call for a boycott, 53.73% of the electorate turned out, and 85% of those participating voted in favor of the referendum. Several protests against the referendum effort, involving thousands of supporters of the boycott, were stopped by Mauritanian security forces. On August 3, tear gas and batons were used against protesters. (Mauritania Votes to Abolish Senate by Referendum, supra.) The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights had discussed the protests that took place daily from July 21, and a spokesperson stated that Mauritanian authorities had not responded to requests for permission for the demonstrations and had “actively dispersed gatherings. In several cases, protest leaders were reportedly beaten up and a number of them were arrested.” (Mauritania: UN Rights Office Voices Concern About Unrest Ahead of Constitutional Referendum, UN NEWS CENTRE (Aug. 3, 2017).)