esults: President Col. Maaouya Ould Sid Ahmed TAYA reelected
with 90.9% of the vote

Legislative branch: bicameral legislature consists of the Senate or
Majlis al-Shuyukh (56 seats; 17 up for election every two years;
members elected by municipal leaders to serve six-year terms) and the
National Assembly or Majlis al-Watani (79 seats; members elected by
popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 17 April 1998 (next to be held NA 2001);
National Assembly - last held 11 and 18 October 1996 (next to be held
NA 2001)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by
party - NA; National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats
by party - PRDS 71, AC 1, independents and other 7

Judicial branch: three-tier system: lower, appeals, and Supreme Court
(Cour Supreme)

Political parties and leaders: Action for Change or AC [Messoud Ould
BOULKHEIR]; Assembly for Democracy and Unity or RDU [Ahmed Ould SIDI
BABA]; Democratic and Social Republican Party or PRDS (ruling party)
; National Avant-Garde
Party or PAN ; Popular Social and Democratic
Union or UPSD ; Union of Democratic
Forces-New Era or UFD/NE
note: parties legalized by constitution passed 12 July 1991, however,
politics continue to be tribally based

Political pressure groups and leaders: General Confederation of
Mauritanian Workers or CGTM [Abdallahi Ould MOHAMED, secretary
general]; Mauritanian Workers Union or UTM [Mohamed Ely Ould BRAHIM,
secretary general]; B'athists; Arab nationalists; Islamists

International organization participation: ABEDA, ACCT (associate),
ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, AMU, CAEU, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77,
IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (pending member),
ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Ahmed Ben Khalifa BEN JIDDOU
chancery: 2129 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: (202) 232-5700
FAX: (202) 319-2623

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Timberlake FOSTER
embassy: Rue Abdallahi Ould Oubeid, Nouakchott
mailing address: B. P. 222, Nouakchott
telephone: (2) 526-60, 526-63
FAX: (2) 515-92

Flag description: green with a yellow five-pointed star above a
yellow, horizontal crescent; the closed side of the crescent is down;
the crescent, star, and color green are tradi