icameral legislature consists of the Senate or Majlis al-Shuyukh
(56 seats, a part of the seats up for election every two years;
members elected by municipal leaders to serve six-year terms) and
the National Assembly or Majlis al-Watani (81 seats; members elected
by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 9 and 16 April 2004 (next to be held
April 2006); National Assembly - last held 19 and 26 October 2001
(next to be held NA 2006)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by
party - NA; National Assembly - percent of vote by party - PRDS 79%,
RDU 3.5%, UDP 3.5%, AC 5%, UFP 3.5%, FP 1.5%; seats by party - PRDS
64, UDP 3, RDU 3, AC 4, RFD 3, UFP 3, and FP 1

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; Court of Appeals; lower courts

Political parties and leaders:
Action for Change or AC [Messoud Ould BOULKHEIR]; Alliance for
Justice and Democracy or AJD [Kebe ABDOULAYE]; Democratic and Social
Republican Party or PRDS (ruling party) [President Maaouya Ould Sid
Ahmed TAYA]; Mauritanian Party for Renewal and Concorde or PMRC
[Molaye El Hassen Ould JIYID]; National Union for Democracy and
Development or UNDD [Tidjane KOITA]; Party for Liberty, Equality and
Justice or PLEJ [Daouda M'BAGNIGA]; Popular Front or FP [Ch'bih Ould
CHEIKH MALAININE]; Popular Progress Alliance or APP [Messoud Ould
BOULKHEIR]; Popular Social and Democratic Union or UPSD [Mohamed
Mahmoud Ould MAH]; Progress Force Union or UFP [Mohamed Ould
MAOULOUD]; Rally of Democratic Forces or RFD [Ahmed Ould DADDAH];
Rally for Democracy and Unity or RDU [Ahmed Ould SIDI BABA]; Union
for Democracy and Progress or UDP [Naha Mint MOUKNASS]
note: the Action for Change party was banned in January 2002
although its members were permitted to keep their seats in the
National Assembly; parties legalized by constitution ratified 12
July 1991, however, politics continue to be tribally based

Political pressure groups and leaders:
Arab nationalists; Ba'thists; General Confederation of Mauritanian
Workers or CGTM [Abdallahi Ould MOHAMED, secretary general];
Independent Confederation of Mauritanian Workers or CLTM [Samory
Ould BEYE]; Islamists; Mauritanian Workers Union or UTM [Mohamed Ely
Ould BRAHIM, secretary general]

International organization participation:
ABEDA, ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AMU, AU, CAEU, FAO, G-77, IBRD,
ICAO, ICFTU, ICR