At stake in this election:

• 146 seats in the National Assembly (Al Jamiya Al Wataniya).

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Mohamed Ould Abdel AZIZ
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Moulaye Ould Mohamed LAGHDAF
• Assembly: Mauritania has a bicameral Parliament (Barlamane) consisting of the Senate (Majlis al-Shuyukh) with 56 seats and the National Assembly (Al Jamiya Al Wataniya) with 146 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• In the National Assembly (Al Jamiya Al Wataniya), 106 members are elected in single- and multi-member constituencies to serve 5-year terms and 40 members are elected through a closed-list proportional representation system to serve 5-year terms. Districts have a magnitude ranging from 1 to 18. For single-member constituencies, elections are majoritarian, with a run-off if no candidate achieves an absolute majority in the first round. In two-seat constituencies, elections are also majoritarian, with any list achieving an absolute majority winning in the first round, and a run-off if not. In districts with more than two seats, elections are held on the basis of proportional representation, with no run-offs. Seats in these districts are allocated on the basis of the largest remainder system. Election lists in two-member constituencies must include at least one candidate of each gender. In larger districts, a female candidate must appear in either first or second place, and genders should alternate throughout the list. Of the 40 seats elected at the nationwide level, 20 seats are reserved for females.

Election Notes:

• The last election for the National Assembly was held on November 19 and December 3, 2006. The election was held before the 2008 coup d’etat led by Mohamed Ould Adel AZIZ, an Army General and Presidential Chief of Staff. Abdel AZIZ subsequently won presidential elections on June 9, 2009. Elections were originally scheduled for October 1, 2011, but they have been repeatedly delayed.
• In the first round of the elections on November 23, 89 seats were allocated, with the Union for the Republic winning a majority of seats. The runoff elections in single and dual member districts where no majority was attained will be held on December 21.

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Union for the Republic / Union pour la République الإتحاد من أجل الجمهورية
  • Leader: Mohamed Mahmoud Ould Mohamed LEMINE
  • Seats won in last National Assembly election: N/A[1]
• National Rally for Reform and Development / Tewassoul التجمع الوطني للإصلاح و التنمية
  • Leader: Mohamed Jemil Ould MANSOUR
  • Seats won in last National Assembly election: 0[2]
• Popular Progressive Alliance / Alliance Populaire Progressiste (APP)
  • Leader: Messoud Ould BOULKHEIR
  • Seats won in last National Assembly election: 5
• El Wiam
  • Leader: Boïdel Ould HOUMEIT
  • Seats won in last National Assembly election: 0
• Union for Democracy and Progress / Union pour la Democratie et le Progrès (UDP)
  • Leader: Messoud Ould BOULKHEIR
  • Seats won in last National Assembly election: 3

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 3,872,684 (2013)
• Registered Voters: 1,189,105  nationwide (November 2013), for the run-off election, there were 311,94 registered voters.

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 1,924,771 (2013)

·         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: 37 Assembly (following the 2013 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: 580,902 (est.)

[1] The Union for the Republic now has 60 seats in the National Assembly. The party was formed in 2009 by Mohamed Ould Abdel AZIZ after resigning from the military to run for President.

[2] Tewassoul was founded in 2007, and serves as the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood in Mauritania. It currently has four seats in the National Assembly. Tewassoul is a member of the Coordination of the Democratic Opposition (COD), which is an alliance of 11 opposition parties. Of these 11 parties, only Tewassoul will participate in the election.