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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NOUAKCHOTT 000791 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/27/2016 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM PINR EAID KPAO MR
SUBJECT: PUBLIC STRONGLY SUPPORTS REFERENDUM RESULTS -- 
DESPITE MYRIAD PROBLEMS WITH ELECTORAL MECHANICS 
 
REF: NOUAKCHOTT 784 
 
Classified By: Amb. Joseph LeBaron, Reasons 1.4(b)(d) 
 
-------------- 
(C) Key Points 
-------------- 
 
-- While the great majority of Mauritanians, including 
virtually all of Mauritania's 35 political parties, have 
quickly and enthusiastically accepted the results of the 
referendum (reftel), one political party has claimed outright 
fraud. 
 
-- Five leading human rights organizations, including GERDDES 
and SOS-Esclaves (SOS-Slaves), which coordinated a referendum 
observation mission to 173 polling stations, found that the 
"election conditions were satisfactory...and the law was 
enforced." 
 
-- The four-member political party coalition "Bloc for 
Change" (BPC) issued a press statement "denouncing" the 
serious lapses associated with the referendum, including the 
strong efforts of the government to influence the vote and 
intimidation by security forces at polling stations. 
 
------------ 
(C) Comments 
------------ 
 
-- Embassy agrees with many of the criticisms in the BPC 
statement.  These elections were far from perfect in terms of 
election mechanics. 
 
-- But the problems identified in the statement are largely 
procedural lapses that need to be corrected before the next 
election.  They are not examples of systemic fraud that 
invalidate the referendum results. (We detail those 
procedural lapses and problems in election mechanics septel.) 
 
-- Embassy will work with NDI, the UN and our international 
partners to help Mauritania address these problems before 
what will be much more difficult municipal, legislative and 
presidential elections. 
 
-- The referendum was the easy vote.  It will get much harder 
from here on. 
 
End Key Points and Comments. 
 
¶1. (C) Following the landslide victory of the June 25 
national referendum (reftel), public reaction has been highly 
supportive for both the referendum and the Military Council 
for Justice and Democracy (MCJD).  While nearly all political 
actors have expressed their support for the election results, 
a handful have criticized electoral irregularities, and at 
least one political party has claimed outright fraud. 
 
------------------------------------ 
WIDESPREAD PRAISE FOR THE REFERENDUM 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶2. (C) Referendum enthusiasm, expressed by officials from the 
Ministry of the Interior and the National Independent 
Electoral Commission, has been echoed by political parties 
and civil society throughout Mauritania.  Rally for Democracy 
and Unity (one of the leading political parties) spokesman 
Ould Sidelemeine told PolOff "we worked hard for the yes 
vote, and are very happy with the huge support," adding that 
"our president campaigned in Selibaby, Gorgol, Trarza, and 
Nouadhibou to ensure the referendum's success."  Republican 
Party for Democracy and Revival (Taya's former political 
party) Cabinet Director Ahmed Ould Khairou added "the 
referendum was in the best interests of the Mauritanian 
people and was in the best interests of our party...that is 
why we supported a yes vote, and why so many people came out 
to vote yes." 
 
¶3. (C) Representatives from five leading human rights 
organizations, including GERDDES and SOS-Esclaves 
(SOS-Slaves), coordinated a referendum observation mission in 
 
NOUAKCHOTT 00000791  002 OF 002 
 
 
which they visited 173 polling stations in nine of 
Mauritania's 13 regions.  According to the group's press 
release, "election conditions were satisfactory...and the law 
was enforced."  When asked by PolOff if the team had 
witnessed any cases of fraud, SOS-Esclaves president Boubacar 
Messaoud said "we saw some problems related to poor training 
of poll workers, but nothing that appeared fraudulent." 
 
¶4. (C) The observation mission's statement follows the 
government's refusal to permit the group to officially 
observe elections.  The group decided to ignore this refusal 
and went forward with its own observation mission anyway.  In 
addition, SOS-Esclaves has a history of being outspoken and 
oftentimes critical of the government.  In spite of these two 
factors, the group was ultimately supportive of the 
referendum process and election results. 
 
----------------------------------- 
IRREGULARITIES AND A CLAIM OF FRAUD 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (C) The four-member political party coalition "Bloc for 
Change" (BPC) issued a press release "denouncing" the serious 
lapses associated with the referendum.  Specifically, they 
cite the strong efforts of the government to influence the 
vote, the lack of independence on the part of the electoral 
commission, and intimidation by security forces at polling 
stations.  BPC president Mohamed Ould Dellahi told PolOff 
that "this is still the scenario we saw under Taya, with the 
strong influence of the government to influence the result." 
Dellahi said that while the BPC was disappointed with the 
referendum, "we plan to participate in the coming elections, 
and will work to amend the constitution because it is against 
our principles." 
 
¶6. (C) The BPC, which stopped short of claiming fraud in its 
press release, boycotted the referendum because the proposed 
constitutional amendments did not address sensitive racial 
and ethnic issues which are the centerpiece of the 
coalition's platform. 
 
¶7. (C) The Party of the Third Generation (PTG) (a small 
political party with limited political influence) is 
currently the only recognized political party to officially 
claim that the referendum results were fraudulent.  The PTG, 
which was the only party to advocate a no vote for the 
referendum, has not provided details to support its claim of 
fraud.  PTG Representative Lebatt Ould Etah has not been 
available for comment. 
 
------------------- 
CALL FOR NEUTRALITY 
------------------- 
 
¶8. (U) Union of Forces for Progress (one of the leading 
political parties) Second Deputy Chairman Mohamed Mustapha 
Ould Bedreddine has joined other leading political parties in 
calling on the government to be "cautious and neutral" in the 
coming elections.  "The current phase is simple," Bedreddine 
told reporters, adding that "the coming legislative, 
municipal and presidential elections are more serious and 
require everyone to prepare themselves and not to be led by 
excessive optimism." 
LeBaron