15/09/2008
Plans adopted by the Mauritanian parliament on Sunday (September 14th) to hold presidential elections in 12-14 months may render the ruling military junta leader ineligible as a candidate, international press reported. General Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz, who seized power after ousting President Sidi Mohamed Ould Cheikh Abdellahi, could be excluded from the poll. Reuters quoted the resolution adopted by the assembly as calling for the exclusion of "magistrates and soldiers and all those who exercise executive power during this period of transition". It is unclear from the document whether Abdelaziz would be eligible to run in the elections if he resigned as head of state.