The Popular Front (''Front Populaire'') is a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

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

. The party was founded in 1998 based on a platform committed to the establishment of a civil state, access of all political parties to the media, the separation of the Mauritanian state and the

Democratic and Social Republican Party The Democratic Republican Party for Renewal (french: Parti Républicain Démocratique pour le Renouvellement - PRDR) is a political party in Mauritania. Formerly known as the Democratic and Social Republican Party, (french: Parti Républicain D� ...

(PRDS) of President

Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya ( ar, معاوية ولد سيد أحمد الطايع, Ma‘āwiyah wuld Sīdi Aḥmad aṭ-Ṭāya‘ / Mu'awiya walad Sayyidi Ahmad Taya; born 28 November 1941) is a Mauritanian military officer who served as the P ...

, and the creation of a national unity government chaired by the opposition. The front was initially mainly distinguished by its policy of non-participation in elections under the Ould Taya government. Party leader Mohamed Lemine Ch'bih Ould Cheikh Melainine was arrested on 8 April 2001 along with two other party members, Mukhtar Ould Haibetna and Bouba Ould Hassan, on grounds of conspiracy to commit acts of sabotage and terrorism in Mauritania. The government alleged the trio to have been acting in collusion with the Libyan government of Muammar al-Gaddafi. The three were tried in a criminal court some 850 kilometers from Noukachott, and each received a sentence of five years imprisonment. The sentence was met with surprise from many observers, who had expected the three to be acquitted. The defense team argued that the trial was deeply flawed, and that the confessions from their clients had been obtained as a result of an interrogation during which they had been drugged by the Mauritanian police. The party went on to contest the

legislative elections A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

in October 2001, winning one seat. Following the removal of Ould Taya from Office in August 2005, the party competed in the 2006

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operate ...

, winning 1 out of 95 seats.

External links

Official web site

References

Political parties in Mauritania Political parties established in 1998 1998 establishments in Mauritania {{Mauritania-party-stub