The Mauritanian presidency has announced the dissolution of parliament in preparation for early elections in May. Mauritania is suffering from numerous economic problems and an influx of immigrants from the Sahel region, as well as terrorist threats from Islamist organizations. Mauritanians hope that the newly discovered oil and gas revenues will bring about an economic and social renaissance in the country. Early elections in Mauritania:
The Mauritanian presidency has announced the dissolution of parliament in preparation for early elections in May. Mauritania is suffering from numerous economic problems and an influx of immigrants from the Sahel region, as well as terrorist threats from Islamist organizations. Mauritanians hope that the newly discovered oil and gas revenues will bring about an economic and social renaissance in the country. Early elections in Mauritania:
Presidential decree to dissolve parliament
Early elections in Mauritania: Mauritania’s presidency on Monday announced the dissolution of the House of Representatives, according to a presidential decree issued by Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El-Ghazwani.
The decision comes as a prelude to holding legislative, regional and municipal elections ahead of their constitutional date, after political parties, the Ministry of the Interior and the Independent Electoral Commission agreed to hold them on May 13, four months ahead of schedule.
The political parties and the Ministry of the Interior attributed the decision to accelerate the decision to “avoid holding elections during the rainy and summer seasons.
The second paragraph of article 31 of the Mauritanian constitution states that “general elections shall be held not less than 30 days and not more than 60 days after the dissolution of the National Assembly.
The decision to dissolve the National Assembly is part of the implementation of the results of consultations held last September between the Mauritanian Ministry of the Interior and representatives of political parties, which provided for a package of measures, including the election of 50% of representatives to the National Assembly according to the proportional system and 50% according to the two-step majority system.
The proportional system was adopted in all regional and municipal councils, provided that the head of the regional council or the mayor was the head of the list that obtained the largest number of votes cast.
The agenda included the creation of a national youth list, alternating between the sexes, with 11 seats, provided that it included at least two seats for people with special needs.
Mauritania is a destination for Malian youth to reconnect with their war-aborted dreams
Political stability factors in Mauritania have driven thousands of young Malians to immigrate there, and Malians have been directed to the Mauritanian labor market because of geographic proximity. The two countries share a land border of more than 2,000 kilometers, and the existence of a passable international road has encouraged millions of people to emigrate and then settle in Mauritanian cities, including the capital, Chami City, and the economic capital, Nouadhibou.
The secretary general of the Malian community in Mauritania, Boubaker Sidiki Traoré, estimates that “the number of members of his community residing on Mauritanian territory is 150,000.
“Most Malians are active in construction and domestic work, and they work a lot on water distribution vehicles in areas not served by the water distribution network in Nouakchott,” said Traoré.
He pointed out that “thousands of young Malians have become active in the gold exploration sector in the city of Al-Shami, north of the capital, especially since most of them have experience in the field because of its popularity in their home country.
The journalist who follows the problems of immigrants, Rabih Adoum, believes that “Mauritania has become a preferred destination for millions of people because of the political stability, as well as the combination of the two factors of proximity and coexistence between the peoples of the two countries, which have been melted by geography and history.”
Unstable security situation in Mali
The secretary general of the Malian Community in Mauritania considers that “the unstable security situation in Mali has contributed to an increase in migration to Mauritania in search of a better life.
Malian youth have set their sights on the dream of reaching Europe from the Mauritanian gateway through illegal immigration, which thrives in the north of the country, despite strict procedures by the Mauritanian coast guard to reach the Spanish Canary Islands.
Mauritania has imposed mandatory crossing points along its borders to control entry and exit out of fear of waves of illegal immigrants, who use its land as a departure point to the promised dream in Europe.
The Mauritanian Minister of the Interior has previously stated that “refugees in Mauritania have arrived in large numbers, and stressed that this situation has caused great pressure on the public social services provided by the Mauritanian state.
The Mauritanian government recently signed a security agreement with its Spanish counterpart, which will provide Mauritania with logistical and technical mechanisms in the field of security, to help it deal with the phenomenon of illegal immigration, smuggling in all its forms, and other types of organized crime.
Mauritanian authorities have previously arrested hundreds of illegal immigrants from Mali and detained them in designated centers funded by the European Union.
IMF: Mauritania faces huge infrastructure needs
The International Monetary Fund confirmed on Friday that Mauritania faces “enormous needs” in terms of human resources and infrastructure development.
This was stated by the Fund’s Assistant Managing Director, Kenji Okumura, after his talks with Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El-Ghazouani at the presidential palace in Nouakchott.
He stressed that “rising international prices have led to inflationary pressures and food insecurity in this Arab country located in West Africa, with a population of about 4 million people.
Okumura noted that “price fluctuations have also affected the international investment situation in Mauritania.
He said, “Mauritania’s current account deficit has doubled to 16.4 percent of GDP in 2022, due to pressure on international food and energy prices, and lower iron ore prices.”
Okumura added: “I welcomed the launch of the economic program for Mauritania, which will be supported by the fund, and its full commitment to its implementation.”
He explained, “The economic reform program, supported by agreements with the International Monetary Fund worth about $87 million, aims to maintain macroeconomic stability, strengthen fiscal and monetary policy frameworks, and support the foundations for sustainable, inclusive growth and poverty reduction. “
And he added that he also discussed with the Mauritanian president “the need to maintain investment in infrastructure and social spending to achieve stronger and greener growth, with the need to maintain fiscal discipline to contain debt.”
Okumura noted that further tightening of monetary policy, in close coordination with budget implementation, will help reduce inflation.
About 31 percent of Mauritania’s 4 million people live below the poverty line, according to official data.
In January, the IMF said economic growth in Mauritania accelerated to 5.3 percent in 2022, driven mainly by the mining, agriculture, and fisheries sectors.
Gas, oil and renewable energies for economic and social renaissance
For several years, Mauritania has been seeking to become a regional hub for renewable energy, in parallel with its plans to join the Gas Exporters Club and become one of its incubators on the African continent.
A study by the British company Chariot in mid-September showed that Mauritania is qualified to produce green hydrogen at lower cost, thanks to its solar and wind energy resources.
In September, the country announced its efforts to implement a multi-stage approach to energy transition, focusing first on the development of traditional, discovered energy projects (such as the “Ahmim” floating field and the “Bir Allah” onshore field), while the second phase will be from 2027 to early 2030. for green hydrogen projects.
In this context, the country signed in early September an agreement with the British company “Chariot” and the French company “Total”, to launch the “Noor” green hydrogen project, which, once implemented, should be one of the largest renewable energy projects on the African continent.
$34 billion green hydrogen production project
An international commercial consortium, consisting of German, Emirati and Egyptian companies, has signed an agreement with the Mauritanian government on a $34 billion green hydrogen production project, a step that is expected to help increase the country’s national income and gross domestic product.
The total production capacity of the new project, when completed, will reach 8 million tons per year of green hydrogen and sustainable alternative fuels from non-vital sources, according to a company statement.
The Mauritanian government said it expects the first phase of this “major” project to be launched in 2028, and that it will provide approximately 3,000 new job opportunities during the construction phase.
In addition to the number of employees in the start-up phase, the project will see the addition of 1,000 new job opportunities when the project is operational, and will help provide thousands of job opportunities in indirectly related industries.
The new facility will be located northeast of the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, and the total capacity of the smelters is expected to reach 10 gigawatts when all phases are completed.