President will have to command respect

Khattat By: Mohamed Mohamedou Khattat

090715_zawaya-photo

It is clear that the main precondition is, first and foremost, that the first round of the presidential elections on July 18th and the second round that may be held on August 1st must be transparent, since the last presidential elections in 2007 were marred by the bias of military figures who supported the president only to eventually overthrow him.

To protect democracy and avoid a further coup d’état, the future president who is voted into office in these July 2009 elections will have to be able to command respect. In other words, he must have full powers, beginning with the army, which must be properly under his control.

He will also have to make the various authorities operate in harmony by giving them full powers so that each can play its role fully and entirely independently.

Have your comments posted immediately! Register

1800 characters remaining (1800 max)

Please enter digits
Button

Home

The question: With the Mauritanian presidential election campaign in full swing after the country's second coup in less than four years, what safeguards, if any, do you think the next president should put in place to protect democracy in the country?

Other Opinions

News from Magharebia