1971 Mauritanian general election

General elections were held in Mauritania on 8 August 1971 to elect a President and National Assembly, the first time the two elections had been held together. At the time, the country was a one-party state with the Mauritanian People's Party (PPM) as the sole legal party. Its leader, incumbent President Moktar Ould Daddah, was the only candidate in the presidential election, and was re-elected unopposed to a third term in office,[1] whilst the PPM won all 50 seats in the National Assembly election. Voter turnout for the parliamentary election was reported to be 95.6%.[2]

1971 Mauritanian general election

8 August 1971 (1971-08-08)
Registered534,994
Presidential election
← 1966
1976 →
Turnout96.29% (Increase0.09pp)
 
Candidate Mokhtar Ould Daddah
Party PPM
Popular vote 512,708
Percentage 100%
Parliamentary election
← 1965
1975 →

All 50 seats in the National Assembly
26 seats needed for a majority
Turnout
95.59% (Increase2.77pp)
Party Leader Vote % Seats +/–
PPM Mokhtar Ould Daddah 100 50 +10
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.

Background

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Mauritania came under the direct control of the French Colonial Empire during 1933.[3] After independence on 28 November 1960, the country declared itself the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, with Ould Daddah becoming its first President.[3] He declared the country a one-party state in 1964, and during 1965 all parties merged with the ruling Mauritanian Assembly Party to form the Mauritanian People's Party.[3]

Results

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Moktar Ould Daddah, the incumbent President and winner of the 1966 Presidential elections

President

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CandidatePartyVotes%
Moktar Ould DaddahMauritanian People's Party512,708100.00
Total512,708100.00
Valid votes512,70899.53
Invalid/blank votes2,4130.47
Total votes515,121100.00
Registered voters/turnout534,99496.29
Source: Nohlen et al.

National Assembly

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All the Mauritanian People's Party candidates were elected unopposed.[4]

PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Mauritanian People's Party504,406100.0050+10
Total504,406100.0050+10
Valid votes504,40698.63
Invalid/blank votes7,0081.37
Total votes511,414100.00
Registered voters/turnout534,99495.59
Source: Nohlen et al.

References

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  1. ^ "Elections in Mauritania". African Elections Database. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  2. ^ Dieter Nohlen, Michael Krennerich & Bernhard Thibaut (1999) Elections in Africa: A data handbook, p394 ISBN 0-19-829645-2
  3. ^ a b c A Political Chronology of Africa. Routledge. 2003. p. 285. ISBN 9781135356668.
  4. ^ Shillington, Kevin, ed. (2013). Encyclopedia of African History 3-Volume Set. Routledge. p. 959. ISBN 9781135456702.
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