Mauritanians Choose Post-Coup President

A man casts his vote for president at a polling station in Nouakchott, Mauritania Sunday, March 25, 2007. The citizens of this coup-plagued northwest African country went to the polls Sunday for the second time this month _ choosing between two men vying to usher Mauritania into civilian rule after no candidate won more than 50 percent in the first round. (AP Photo/Ahmed Mohamed) (Ahmed Mohamed - AP)

NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania -- Coup-plagued Mauritania held a second-round vote in its presidential elections Sunday, with two men vying to usher the northwest African country into civilian rule after years of dictatorship.

The runoff vote _ held because no candidate won more than 50 percent in the first round two weeks ago _ is the final stage of an election that has been widely heralded as Mauritania's first truly free presidential ballot following years of coups and dictators. The vote itself was organized by a ruling junta that seized power in a bloodless coup nearly two years ago.

Early in the morning, men in pastel robes and women in pale, gauzy wraps filed through schools converted into polling stations. In the capital, there were not the long, serpentine lines of the first-round vote on March 11, but many people turned out in the first hours of voting.

Most polls in Nouakchott had closed by 7 p.m. local time, though a few stayed open later to allow those waiting in line to vote. Ballot-counting was to start in the evening and a winner could be announced by Monday night.

Mauritanians are choosing between former government minister Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi and longtime opposition leader Ahmed Ould Daddah.

Abdallahi, 69, was minister of finance in one previous administration and minister of fishing under 21-year ruler Maaoya Sid'Ahmed Ould Taya. He fell out with Taya in 1987 and spent six months under house arrest. He is seen by some as a coalition candidate _ supported by a group of 18 parties along with Taya's former party.

Since the first vote, the third- and fourth-place finishers have given their support to Abdallahi.

Daddah, 65 _ the brother of Mauritania's post-independence leader and first president _ is a longtime opposition figure who ran twice against Taya in past ballots and spent four years under house arrest. He has also received support from first-round candidates who garnered sizable percentages.

Abdallahi received 25 percent of the first round vote, compared with 21 percent for Daddah. Nineteen candidates originally ran for president.

Mauritania has experienced 10 coups or attempted coups since gaining independence from France in 1960. Previous elections were widely viewed as rigged. The 2005 coup, though, was different. Junta leader Col. Ely Ould Mohamed Vall vowed he was stepping in only to usher in democracy. He fulfilled a major part of that promise by refusing to enter a candidate.

Talking to reporters after voting, Vall said he was "satisfied" with the "perfect success of the democratic transition." International observers found the ballot to be going well, said Marie Anne Isler Beguin, chief of the European Union's 80-member mission.

Many Mauritanians have said that the most important aspect of the elections is the transition to democracy and a free society, and both candidates have promised to continue economic and social reforms started by Vall. They participated in a debate earlier this week in which they both promised to focus on human rights and economic development.

Abdallahi pledged Sunday to respect the result.

"If I am beaten, I will congratulate Ahmed Ould Daddah and wish him good luck," Abdallahi said as he cast his ballot in the early morning at a Nouakchott primary school.

Daddah called the election "a chance for Mauritanians to make a change away from a deposed regime and create a new era."

About 1.1 million of Mauritania's 3 million citizens were registered to vote. The overwhelmingly Muslim country has largely embraced the changes brought by Vall.

Deposed leader Taya continues to live in exile in Qatar.