Mauritania has taken the first step

The election of Sidi Ould Shaikh Abdullahi as the new president of Mauritania is historic not only for the country but also for the region as well. The election was the first democratic handover to have taken place since the country gained independence in 1960. Abdullahi has won 53 per cent of the vote in an election that has seen a turnout of 67 per cent.

Now that the country has taken the first steps towards democracy, it is important that what has been gained so far at the election be fortified and taken forward. The process of establishing institutions of civil society is crucial for a level of checks and balances have to be established. Perhaps two important issues to be addressed, on the internal and external levels, are how the country would deal with the issue of poverty and how it would take forward its relations with the Arab world.