Der var mere fokus på personer end på politik i det nyligt afholdte parlaments-og lokalvalg. Irin har talt med skuffede vælgere i hovedstaden Nouackchott, hvor mange så deres borgmestre for første gang, kørende gennem kvarteret i luksusbiler.
NOUACKHOTT, 27 November 2013 (IRIN): As votes come in following Mauritania’s 23 November general and local elections, the party of President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, Union for the Republic, looks likely to emerge the winner, with Islamist party Twassoul in second place.
Voter participation estimates range from 46 percent, according to Twassoul, to 60 percent, with many voters describing the elections as being only about candidates’ connections rather than policy or real change.
While Twassoul took part, other main opposition parties boycotted the elections, having reportedly called them a “masquerade”, accusing the ruling party of not giving them enough of a voice.
President Abdel Aziz seized power in a military coup in 2008, but then was elected president one year later. The next presidential election is scheduled for 2014.
Fravær af forslag og ideer
Electoral campaigns this year revealed few new ideas but provided ample opportunity (rig lejlighed) for residents to see luxury cars gliding through upmarket (bedrestillede) neighbourhoods, as supporters held up pictures of their relatives – a cousin, an aunt, an uncle – to endorse (anbefale) them for a mayoral or deputy mayoral post, said residents of upscale neighbourhood Tevragh Zeina.
Very few of the candidates listed policy or project proposals on the thousands of posters they plastered across the country, said residents of the capital, Nouakchott, home to half of Mauritania’s two million people.
Leaflets distributed tended to say: “For change, vote for.” without spelling out what change they intended to undertake.
Some 1.500 candidates from 74 parties took part, competing for 147 parliamentary seats and 218 local council posts. Results are expected by the weekend.
Læs mere på: http://www.irinnews.org/report/99215/voter-priorities-following-mauritania-elections
