Government

Government#

presidential republic

System

presidential republic

Capital

Nouakchott

Head of state

President Mohamed Ould Cheikh el GHAZOUANI (since 1 August 2019)

Head of government

Prime Minister Moctar Ould DIAY (since 2 August 2024)

Legislature

legislature name: Parliament (Barlamane); legislative structure: unicameral; chamber name: National Assembly (Al Jamiya-Al-Wataniya); number of seats: 176 (all directly elected); electoral system: mixed system; scope of elections: full renewal; term in office: 5 years; most recent election date: 5/13/2023 to 5/27/2023; parties elected and seats per party: El Insaf (107); Tawassoul (11); Other (58); percentage of women in chamber: 23.3%; expected date of next election: May 2028

Judiciary

highest court(s): Supreme Court or Cour Suprême (subdivided into 7 chambers: 2 civil, 2 labor, 1 commercial, 1 administrative, and 1 criminal, each with a chamber president and 2 councilors); Constitutional Council (consists of 9 members); High Court of Justice (consists of 9 members); judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court president appointed by the president of the republic to serve a 5-year renewable term; Constitutional Council members appointed - 3 by the president of the republic, 2 by the president of the National Assembly, 1 by the prime minister, 1 by the leader of the democratic opposition, 1 by the largest opposition party in the National Assembly, and 1 by the second largest party in the National Assembly; members serve single, 9-year terms with one-third of membership renewed every 3 years; High Court of Justice members appointed by Parliament - 6 by the ruling Coalition of Majority Parties and 3 by opposition parties; subordinate courts: Courts of Appeal; courts of first instance, or wilya courts, are established in the regions’ headquarters and include commercial and labor courts, criminal courts, Moughataa (district) Courts, and informal/customary courts

Constitution

history: previous 1964; latest adopted 12 July 1991; amendment process: proposed by the president of the republic or by Parliament; consideration of amendments by Parliament requires approval of at least one third of the membership; a referendum is held only if the amendment is approved by two-thirds majority vote; passage by referendum requires simple majority vote by eligible voters; passage of amendments proposed by the president can bypass a referendum if approved by at least three-fifths majority vote by Parliament

Independence

28 November 1960 (from France)

Administrative divisions

15 regions ( wilayas , singular - wilaya ); Adrar, Assaba, Brakna, Dakhlet Nouadhibou, Gorgol, Guidimaka, Hodh ech Chargui, Hodh El Gharbi, Inchiri, Nouakchott Nord, Nouakchott Ouest, Nouakchott Sud, Tagant, Tiris Zemmour, Trarza

Departments#

TODO. Ministries and authoritative sites, to be filled out.

Hierarchy#

How power is wired. The diagram below carries the generic template; refine the boxes and edges to match the current regime.

        flowchart TD
  HoS["Head of State"]
  HoG["Head of Government"]
  Leg["Legislature"]
  Jud["Judiciary"]
  Cab["Cabinet"]
  Foreign["Foreign Affairs"]
  Interior["Interior"]
  Defense["Defense"]
  Finance["Finance"]
  Justice["Justice"]

  HoS --> HoG
  HoG --> Cab
  Cab --> Foreign
  Cab --> Interior
  Cab --> Defense
  Cab --> Finance
  Cab --> Justice
  HoS -.- Leg
  HoS -.- Jud
    

Resources#

Public-facing portals the people use day to day. Operators monitor these for policy changes, official notices, and civil-registry data.

Resource

Site

Purpose

National portal

to be filled

One-stop government services for citizens.

Tax / revenue

to be filled

Income tax, VAT, customs.

Civil registry

to be filled

Births, deaths, marriages, national ID.

Immigration

to be filled

Visas, residency, naturalisation.

Health

to be filled

Public health, advisories, vaccination records.

Education

to be filled

Curricula, school directories, transcripts.

Statistics

to be filled

Census, economic indicators, opendata.

Police / emergency

to be filled

Reporting, missing persons, emergency contacts.