Elections to the

French National Assembly The National Assembly (french: link=no, italics=set, Assemblée nationale; ) is the lower house of the bicameral French Parliament under the Fifth Republic, the upper house being the Senate (). The National Assembly's legislators are known a ...

were held in

Mauritania Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية ...

on 17 June 1951. Mauritania had one seat in the Assembly, which was won by

Sidi el-Mokhtar N'Diaye ''Sidi'' or ''Sayidi'', also Sayyidi and Sayeedi, ( ar, سيدي, Sayyīdī, Sīdī (dialectal) "milord") is an Arabic masculine title of respect. ''Sidi'' is used often to mean "saint" or "my master" in Maghrebi Arabic and Egyptian Arabic. Wi ...

, a member of the

Mauritanian Progressive Union The Mauritanian Progressive Union (french: Union progressiste mauritanienne, UPM) was a political party in pre-independence Mauritania. History The UPM was established in February 1948, in order to form a more conservative and regionally-based o ...

. He defeated the incumbent,

Horma Ould Babana Horma Ould Babana (1 March 1912 – 7 July 1979), also known as Ahmedou Bin Horma, Ahmedou Ould Horma Ould Babana and Horma Babana, was a Mauritanian politician who was active in the country's struggle against colonialism. Babana was the first ...

, who had been elected as a member of the

French Section of the Workers' International The French Section of the Workers' International (french: Section française de l'Internationale ouvrière, SFIO) was a political party in France that was founded in 1905 and succeeded in 1969 by the modern-day Socialist Party. The SFIO was found ...

in the last election, but had since gone on to leave the SFIO and form his own party, the

Mauritanian Entente Mauritanian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Mauritania, a country in northwest Africa * A person from Mauritania, or of Mauritanian descent. For information about the Mauritanian people, see Demographics of Mauritania. * Note th ...

.Pazzanita, p255

Background

The UPM was a conservative and regionally based organisation that had been expressly formed in order to oppose Babana's Mauritanian Entente. The party was supported by the colonial administration and its allies, the traditional Maure secular and clerical ruling classes, who feared the Mauritanian Entente's "socialist" program.Warner, Rachel. "Postwar Reforms". In Handloff. Babana had spent much of his five-year term in Paris, resulting in him becoming disconnected from the changing Mauritanian political climate, and contributing to a sense of alienation from him amongst Mauritanians. This was reinforced by his strong defence of Moorish interests, which served to alienate black Mauritanians, and also by his disinterest in Mauritanian independence.

Results

References

{{Mauritanian elections

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

Elections in Mauritania