Mauritanian President Mouawiya Ould Taya's sweeping victory at the polls this week might set the country on an irrevocable course of authoritarianism and racial discrimination, argues Gamal Nkrumah Mauritanian society is strictly divided into a rigid caste system that flies in the face of the country's supposed march towards democratisation and political liberalisation. The lighter-skinned Arabic-speaking Moors, after whom the country's name is derived, and who have in the pre-colonial, colonial and post- independence eras monopolised power in Mauritania, are not prepared or willing to relinquish power. If Mauritania's traditional ruling elite retain power indefinitely -- as now seems likely with the sweeping victory of President Mouawiya Ould Taya at the presidential polls last Friday -- then democratisation is nothing but a sham in Mauritania. Black Mauritanians, women and the underprivileged and politically marginalised must be given the right to have a say in the decision-making process. Anything less would be a disappointment, and would do irreparable damage to the reputation of the country that sits astride the strategic Saharan trails that connect the Maghreb countries of Northwest Africa with the black African countries south of the Sahara. The stultifying grip on political power (and the Mauritanian military) by Arabs or Arabised Moors distinguishes the country from its neighbours. Some of Mauritania's black African neighbours feel that nothing the country does will be acceptable so long as it remains an Islamic republic that upholds the political hegemony of the traditional Arabised ruling elite. Human rights groups, both inside the country and in the West, have also arrived at the same conclusion. Change in Mauritania will be marked by all races and ethnic groups proportionately represented in the political structures of the country. Mauritania is a multi-racial country in which the only common denominator is the Islamic faith. The country's large black African population has long been politically suppressed and socially and economically marginalised. And, human rights groups warn, an unofficial apartheid system operates in the country -- a member of the African Union. Admittedly, under intense pressure from Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, Taya's government adopted, in June 2003, a law that punishes slavery with specific penalties in case of violations. Both organisations, however, condemn the current harassment of Mauritanian opposition figures. Like many other African countries, Mauritania is toying with the idea of Western-style democracy. With faltering steps in this direction, it held two presidential elections in 1992 and 1997 which Taya won resoundingly. Allegations of fraud and opposition boycotts marred each victory. As political tension mounts in Mauritania, issues such as Taya's racial agenda, his clampdown on militant Islamist opposition forces, his adoption of crippling economic deregulation and privatisation policies, and his hugely unpopular normalisation of diplomatic relations with Israel have come to the fore. Not everything in the modernisation of Mauritanian politics is laudable. Old habits die hard in the race and caste-ridden social and political culture of this sprawling desert nation of three million people. There is the risk that in moving away from the murky tribal practices of its past, Mauritania will embrace the worst and most superficial aspects of Western electioneering. In Africa, the inferior alternatives masquerading as democracies of sorts have been scant consolation to the electorate. Voters in Africa are sick and tired of the new democratic political system, which is frustratingly lacking in serious promises or commitments. Sadly, Mauritania has proved to be a prime example. In sharp contrast to the vibrant Senegalese experiment with democracy, Mauritania appears to be stranded in the morass of the past. Senegal witnessed the smooth transfer of power from the then-ruling party to the chief opposition, the Senegalese Democratic Party, better known by its French acronym PDS, headed by current Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade. Historically, Mauritania has had rather tempestuous relations with its markedly more democratic neighbours. Mauritania and Senegal fought a border dispute in 1991-92 which killed hundreds and rendered thousands on both sides of the border homeless. Mauritanian blacks are overwhelmingly Muslim, but they are not a homogenous group -- not in the ethnic or cultural sense. There are various ethnic groups -- Pulaar, or Fulani; Soninke; Wolof -- who live along the Senegal River which marks its border with Senegal. Indeed, the people along the two banks of the river share a common culture based on subsistence agriculture and fishing and speak the same languages. But these different black ethnic groups only constitute a segment of Mauritania's black African population. The long-suffering underdog of Mauritanian society has traditionally been the Arabic-speaking dark- skinned descendants of slaves, referred to derisively as Haratin. These constitute a majority of the country's population but have long been sidelined politically. Mauritania is a cornucopia of contradictions. It's official title is the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, but with Israeli assistance it has waged a vicious campaign against its own radical Islamists. The chief Islamist opposition figures are hounded by the political establishment of the ruling Democratic and Social Republican Party (PRDS), itself proclaiming a moderate, progressive and Islam-inspired agenda. Islam is the overriding theme and focus of Mauritanian national identity. The country is surrounded by Muslim nations, Senegal and Mali to the south and southeast, Algeria and Morocco to the north. Yet Mauritania, or more specifically its traditional ruling elites, have since independence from France in 1960, looked disparagingly at the secular governance of their neighbours to the north and the south. Sandwiched between North Africa and Africa south of the Sahara it really belongs to neither. Like the rest of its immediate neighbours -- both Arab and black African -- Mauritania is francophone and predominantly Muslim. But yet it stands apart. Arabic is the official language of Mauritania and the country is a member of the Cairo-based Arab League. The Hassaniya dialect of Arabic, spoken by Arab tribes who migrated from Yemen and other parts of Arabia and settled in what is today Mauritania a millennium ago, is the language spoken by 70 per cent of the country's inhabitants, either as a mother tongue or as a second language. Hassaniya Arabic is also the language of the country's ruling class. Imeraguen, spoken by the Berber Moors, is another widely-spoken language. Apart from racial and ethnic tensions, Taya faces numerous challenges, chief of which is the militant Islamist challenge to his authoritarian rule. Militant Mauritanian Islamists believe that he is not religious enough and that his overt friendship with Israel and the United States is damaging Mauritania's traditional binding ties with the Arab and Islamic worlds. Islamists are especially incensed about Taya's overtures to Israel -- the country is ostensibly awash with Israeli technical experts in areas as far afield as agriculture, mining and security and military affairs. Taya's previous governments have been criticised for clamping down hard on Islamists and other opposition forces. The main opposition leader, Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla, was detained before Friday's presidential polls on suspicion of plotting a coup. Foreign observers were barred from monitoring the Mauritanian elections. Opposition parties declared the results null and void. Expatriate Mauritanians living abroad were banned from voting in Friday's presidential elections in an effort to prevent the country's intellectuals from setting up an "observatory to follow up elections". Mauritania has been ruled by a series of military strongmen since the country's late first President Mukhtar Ould Daddah -- who died in Paris last month -- was ousted in a 1978 coup d'état. Taya usurped power in 1984 in a coup d'état from Haidalla, who himself had seized power in a 1980 military takeover. Taya sought re-election for a fourth term in office and won 67 per cent of the vote, a strong endorsement of his political platform if you have faith in the official results. His stated goal is to lead his country, rich in mineral deposits, into a new era of prosperity, stability and democracy. Taya beat five other candidates in Friday's poll and his party, PRDS, won a majority in the National Assembly. Ahmed Ould Daddah, the brother of Mauritania's first president, came in third with seven per cent of the vote. Aicha Bint Jeddane, the first woman in the Arab world to run for president, did rather poorly according to the official count (0.48 per cent). So did Messaoud Ould Boulkheir, the first descendant of slaves to vie for the presidency, who earned a paltry 5.3 per cent.
