Mauritania’s President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz has received a major political rebuff at home. Having bulldozed highly controversial constitutional reforms through parliament — thanks to the support of his own party and a boycott by the opposition parties — they were finally blocked by the Senate on 17 March.

To get his constitutional reforms passed, he needed a one third majority from both the National Assembly and the Senate. Much to his surprise and miscalculation, 33 of the 56 senators voted against his proposed revision which means that it is now blocked, at least in terms of having it passed through this channel. The president has two alternatives: he can now let the matter rest, or he can try and force it through via a national referendum.

This is a massive setback for Abdel Aziz, while the radical opposition — comprising 11 political parties and represented by the Front national pour la démocratie et l’unité (FNDU) — see it as a great victory.

Abdel Aziz’s Constitutional Amendment text, which would amend the 1991 constitution provides for: the abolition of the Senate which would be replaced by Regional Councils; a change of the national flag; and the abolition of the High Court of Justice, the Ombudsman of the Republic and the Islamic High Council. The FNDU also suspects that Abdel Aziz is planning to use the revised constitution to extend his terms of office so that he can remain in power after the 2019 presidential elections.

Ironically, most of the senators who voted against his plan belonged to the president’s own political party. According to some press reports, the senators were quoted as saying that they saw the project as an attack on their dignity. That is certainly true. It is also the realisation among the ruling Union pour la République (UPR) that Abdel Aziz is treading a dangerous political path. The previous week the FNDU had implored the Senators before their vote: ‘Do not sign your own death warrant’.

It took Abdel Aziz five days to make up his mind on the course of action he now plans to take. On the evening of 23 March, he announced that he would be submitting the draft constitutional revision to a national referendum … [this article continues]