Mauritanian leader rejects calls for 3rd term in office
Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz’s second presidential term is set to expire later this year
Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz
By Mohamed al-Bakay
NOUAKCHOTT
President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz on Tuesday dismissed calls for a constitutional amendment that would allow him to run for a third term in office, Mauritania’s state-run AMI news agency has reported.
Abdel Aziz, whose current term will expire in mid-2019, made the assertion after several ruling party MPs announced plans to launch a petition aimed at drumming up public support for a constitutional amendment which, if adopted, would allow presidents to sit for more than two terms.
According to a statement issued by Abdel Aziz’s office and carried by AMI, the president “maintains his firm position… that the constitution must be respected and that constitutional articles 26, 28 and 99 [pertaining to presidential term limits] should not be amended”.
Abdel Aziz goes on to urge the MPs who proposed the petition against term limits to “work on strengthening [Mauritania’s] democratic system and state institutions”.
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