Slave descendant runs for polls
2007-01-22 09:28
Nouakchott - The first descendant of slaves to run for president in Mauritania, Messaoud Ould Boulkheir, has again announced his candidacy for upcoming elections in March, say reports.
The reports said: "Despite the size of the task, I have decided to put myself forward as a candidate for the presidency of the republic."
Ould Boulkheir would contest as a leader of Mauritania's Popular Alliance for Progress (APP).
At a meeting on Saturday of 2 000 people in Nouakchott, the capital of the northwest African desert country, Ould Boulkheir pledged "to fight slavery in all its forms" and promised to "reinforce national unity".
Ould Boulkheir - the founder of El-Hor, an organisation for the emancipation of slaves, called "Harratins" in Mauritania - ran unsuccessfully for the presidency in polls four years ago.
Anti-slavery legislation
Although slavery was officially abolished in Mauritania in 1981 and new anti-slavery legislation was passed in 2003, many foreign observers believed the practice still continued.
Historically, the Harratins served as slaves to the fair-skinned Bidan Moorish community, which had formed the ruling elite of Mauritania since independence from France in 1960.
Senatorial elections in the west African country's regions also got underway on Sunday, with the National Independent Electoral Commission and international observers reporting no incidents.
The holding of senatorial polls and the presidential elections were part of a promise made by a military junta, which ended President Maaouiya Ould Taya's 21-year autocratic regime in August 03 2005.
The coup, headed by a 17-member Military Council of Justice and Democracy, was initially condemned until it pledged to step down from power after an 18-month transitional period, culminating in the presidential elections.