Mauritania Opposition Unites Against a Third Term for the President
Key Facts
- The country — Mauritania is a desert state of about 5 million people on West Africa’s Atlantic coast, known for iron ore, fishing and newly developed offshore gas.
- The rule — The constitution allows a president one renewal of a five-year term. That limit sits in clauses the text itself bars anyone from revising.
- Why now — Since August, the ruling El Insaf party, its deputies, ministers and local officials have campaigned region by region for President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani. They want him to stay past 2029.
- What happened — More than 15 opposition parties held a general assembly on 15 September 2026 to agree a common line against the third-term campaign, the French broadcaster RFI reported.
- Who is involved — The parties belong to the Democratic Opposition Coalition Pole, a standing alliance. One member, the Rally of Progressive Democrats, suspended its part in dialogue preparations on 16 September 2026.
- What it means for you — Ghazouani took office in 2019 in the first peaceful handover between elected presidents since independence from France in 1960. He was re-elected in June 2024 with 56.12 percent.
- Still open — Whether a constitutional change is attempted at all. The president has asked the parties to hold and finish a national dialogue on the country’s future before the end of 2026.
Ruling-party officials have spent weeks urging President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani to stay in office past 2029. The opposition calls the Mauritania third term campaign unconstitutional and says it is straining the national dialogue.
More than 15 opposition parties held a general assembly on Tuesday, 15 September 2026, RFI, France’s public international broadcaster, reported. They met to settle a common line on the Mauritania third term campaign now running through the country’s politics.
The parties belong to the Democratic Opposition Coalition Pole, a standing alliance whose presidency rotates between its leaders. Their assembly also covered the rising cost of living and preparations for a long-delayed national dialogue.
Weeks of calls to keep the president
The Mauritania third term push has gathered pace since August, driven by local elected officials and ruling-party figures praising the president’s record. The president was first elected in 2019 and re-elected on 29 June 2024 with 56.12 percent of the vote.
On 14 September 2026 the political bureau of El Insaf, the ruling party, took up members’ calls to keep Ghazouani in office. It asked its standing commission to work on the reforms needed to reach that goal, the Mauritanian site La Dépêche reported.
Four days later a member of that bureau, Imam Abdaouh, said the bureau would approve the demand, Sahara Media reported. Allowing a third term would require changing the constitution.
What the constitution says
Mauritania’s constitution, promulgated on 20 July 1991, sets a five-year presidential term that may be renewed once. The two-term limit was written in by the constitutional referendum of 2006.
Lawyers there call the relevant provisions eternity clauses, because the text bars their revision. Le360 Afrique, a Moroccan news site, described the limit in those terms on 19 September 2026.
Abdoul Gourmo Lo is a law professor and vice-president of the Union of Progressive Forces, an opposition party. Introducing a constitutional revision for a third term is impossible in legal terms, he told RFI.
A dialogue that froze once already
President Ghazouani called for a national political dialogue on 27 November 2024. It is the sixth such exercise since 2004, the Institute for Security Studies, a South African research body, notes.
Preparations broke down early this year. Moussa Fall, the coordinator appointed to run the process, suspended the preparatory sessions in March 2026 over the presidential-term question.
The deadlock broke in July 2026, when negotiators struck the words on durations and mandates from the dialogue’s reference document. Alwiam, a Mauritanian news site, reported the compromise on 14 July 2026.
That history is why the new calls landed badly. Talks had been suspended until both sides accepted that no theme would be tied to a third term, Gourmo Lo told RFI.
One party walks out, another was already out
The Rally of Progressive Democrats, an opposition party, suspended its part in the process on 16 September 2026. Its statement called the campaign a public call to violate the constitution, the weekly Le Calame reported.
A second party, Mauritania Forward, had already stepped back on 27 August 2026. Its reason was different: the detention of Lebat Ould Mayouf, a retired general on its executive bureau.
His party says it has been given no explanation for the detention, and no court ruling in the case has been reported. The coalition raised it again in writing on Thursday, 17 September 2026.
It said third-term calls and curbs on freedoms could threaten the dialogue, and demanded the release of those it calls political prisoners. Mauritania’s national news agency, AMI, carried the text in full.
What Ghazouani has actually said
The president addressed the question himself at a press conference with national media on Friday, 24 July 2026. More than three years of his term remain, he said at the presidential palace in Nouakchott.
“I will not support anything contrary to the constitution or that does not have the will of the people,” Ghazouani said. Trust Magazine, a Mauritanian outlet, published the remarks the next day.
His government has been less categorical. The government spokesman, Culture Minister Al-Hussein Ould Meddou, addressed the same question in June 2026.
The president would not close the door if the national dialogue approved a third term, Ould Meddou said. The Mauritanian site Zoom reported the remarks on 11 June 2026.
Other voices have joined the argument. Mohamed Jemil Ould Mansour leads the Front for Citizenship and Justice, known as Jemaa, and is not part of the opposition coalition.
He called the third-term initiatives noise and provocation in a Facebook post on 20 August 2026. Their promoters had no justification, he wrote.
Biram Dah Abeid, an anti-slavery campaigner and member of parliament, came second to Ghazouani in 2019 and again in 2024. He said he leaves the president facing the constitution, his oath and his conscience, Le360 Afrique reported.
What it means for outsiders
Nothing on the ground changes for the small foreign community in Nouakchott this month. Mining and gas staff, aid agencies and European Union missions carry on as before.
The signal to watch is institutional. Mauritania’s reputation for orderly politics sits behind projects such as the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim gas field, shared with Senegal.
The cost of living is the other pressure in the room. Annual inflation reached 8.9 percent in August 2026, with consumer prices up 1.2 percent on July, the national statistics agency ANSADE reported.
What to watch
President Ghazouani asked the parties in July 2026 to launch the dialogue and finish it before the end of the year. Sahara Media reported that he proposed a start in October or November 2026.
Two markers will show which way this goes. One is what the ruling party’s standing commission recommends on a constitutional change.
The other is whether the suspended parties return to the table. The opposition says it is waiting to hear the president answer the calls directly.
For the background to the third-term debate, see our Mauritania explainer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Ghazouani legally run for a third term in Mauritania?
Not under the constitution as it stands. It allows a five-year term renewed once, and the limit sits in provisions that the text bars from revision.
What did Mauritania’s opposition do in September 2026?
More than 15 parties held a general assembly on 15 September 2026 to agree a common line on Mauritania third term calls. Their coalition then issued a statement on 17 September 2026 warning that the campaign could threaten the national dialogue.
What is Mauritania’s national dialogue?
President Ghazouani called for it on 27 November 2024 to address democracy, governance and social divisions. Preparations were suspended in March 2026 over presidential terms, then resumed in July 2026.
Sources
RFI — En Mauritanie, l’opposition cherche une position commune face aux appels à un troisième mandat (16 September 2026) · AMI — La coalition de l’opposition démocratique met en garde contre les appels à un 3ème mandat (17 September 2026) · Sahara Media — El Insaf political bureau will approve the third-term demand (18 September 2026) · Le360 Afrique — Un 3e mandat de Ghazouani est-il possible (19 September 2026) · Le Calame — La RDP suspend sa participation au processus du dialogue (17 September 2026) · Trust Magazine — Ghazouani exclut toute démarche contraire à la Constitution (25 July 2026) · Alwiam — Le compromis sur les mandats présidentiels débloque la crise (14 July 2026) · Sahara Media — Le dialogue national avant la fin de l’année (25 July 2026) · La Dépêche — Dialogue politique au point mort (4 June 2026) · ISS Africa — Can Mauritania avoid another fruitless dialogue (30 May 2025)
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief