CDD Condemns The Election Of President Mohammad Ould Abdel Aziz

The Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) condemns the election of President Mohammed Ould Abdel Aziz of Mauritania as the Chairperson of the African Union during its summit held on the 30th of January 2014 in Addis Ababa.

It should be recalled that President Mohammed Ould Abdel Aziz was a prominent figure in the August 2005 coup d 'etat that led to the overthrow of President Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya and the one in August 2008 that toppled President Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi in Mauritania.

The African Union (AU) Constitutive Act, The Lome Declaration and the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance condemn any unconstitutional change in government and provide sanctions for it.

The election of President Mohammed Ould Abdel Aziz as Chairperson of the Union is not only an encouragement to perpetrators of coup d'état but also constitutes a gross violation of the ideals of the union.

Signed
Idayat Hassan
Director