1951 French legislative election in Mauritania

Elections to the French National Assembly were held in Mauritania on 17 June 1951. Mauritania had one seat in the Assembly, which was won by Sidi el-Mokhtar N'Diaye, a member of the Mauritanian Progressive Union.[1] He defeated the incumbent, Horma Ould Babana, who had been elected as a member of the French Section of the Workers' International in the last election, but had since gone on to leave the SFIO and form his own party, the Mauritanian Entente.[2]

Background

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The UPM was a conservative and regionally based organisation that had been expressly formed in order to oppose Babana's Mauritanian Entente.[2] The party was supported by the colonial administration and its allies, the traditional Maure secular and clerical ruling classes, who feared the Mauritanian Entente's "socialist" program.[3] Babana had spent much of his five-year term in Paris, resulting in him becoming disconnected from the changing Mauritanian political climate, and contributing to a sense of alienation from him amongst Mauritanians. This was reinforced by his strong defence of Moorish interests, which served to alienate black Mauritanians, and also by his disinterest in Mauritanian independence.[2]

Results

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CandidatePartyVotes%
Sidi el-Mokhtar N'DiayeMauritanian Progressive Union24,75348.43
Horma Ould BabanaMauritanian Entente23,62846.23
Hamat BaUGOVAF2,4324.76
Djimé Guibril NdiayeFrench Section of the Workers International2760.54
Paul-Étienne TorréIndependent140.03
Me Sanchez-CalzadillaIndependent110.02
Roger-Henri ChipotDemocratic and Socialist Union for Peace and Freedom00.00
Total51,114100.00
Valid votes51,11496.25
Invalid/blank votes1,9923.75
Total votes53,106100.00
Registered voters/turnout135,58639.17
Source: De Benoist[4]

References

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  1. ^ Pazzanita, Anthony G. (2008). Historical Dictionary of Mauritania. Scarecrow Press. p. XXX.
  2. ^ a b c Pazzanita, p255
  3. ^ Warner, Rachel. "Postwar Reforms". In Handloff.
  4. ^ Joseph-Roger de Benoist (1982) Afrique occidentale française de 1944 à 1960, p528