An opposition MP resigns from the Mauritanian parliament in protest against “corruption”
Opposition MP and anti-slavery activist announces his resignation in a public session broadcast on television
Quick Look
- Mauritanian opposition MP and anti-slavery activist Bram Dah Ould Abeid announced his resignation from Parliament in protest against rampant corruption and mismanagement, in a plenary session broadcast on television.
- Abeid, who ran for president three times and lost twice to current President Mohamed Ould Cheikh Ghazouani, said he would oppose the regime through legal means, struggle and field work.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
Bram Dah Ould Abeid is an opposition lawmaker and anti-slavery human rights activist in Mauritania. He heads the Initiative for the Resurgence of the Abolitionist Movement (IRA). He ran for the presidential elections three times and lost twice to current President Mohamed Ould Cheikh Ghazouani, who won the 2024 elections by obtaining 56 percent of the votes compared to 22 percent for Obaid. Abid was first elected to Parliament in 2018 while he was in prison, and was re-elected in May 2023 within an opposition coalition.
Mauritanian opposition MP and anti-slavery human rights activist, Bram Dah Ould Abeid, announced his resignation from Parliament. In protest against “rampant corruption” in the country, according to what was reported by the German News Agency. Abeid ran for the presidential elections three times, and lost twice to current President Mohamed Ould Sheikh Ghazouani, who won the 2024 elections by obtaining 56 percent of the votes, compared to 22 percent for Abeid.
In a plenary session of Parliament, Monday, broadcast on television, Abeed said that his resignation comes in protest against “the rampant mismanagement and corruption sponsored by the current government,” without providing extensive details regarding his accusations.
Abaid continued: “I will oppose the current regime through legal means, struggle, and field work,” adding that “discussions within the current parliament have become useless.”
In a session devoted to discussing the government’s general policy statement, in the presence of the Prime Minister, Abeed strongly criticized the performance of the current government, and said that corruption is “rampant, and yet there is not a single person in prison accused of corruption.”
Abeed was elected for the first time as a member of Parliament in 2018 while he was in prison, and was re-elected in May 2023 as part of an opposition coalition.
Ould Abeid leads the “Initiative for the Resurgence of the Emancipation Movement” (IRA), which constantly denounces slavery and the practices associated with it in Mauritania. However, the Mauritanian state, which has issued legislation prohibiting all forms of slavery, denies the continued existence of this phenomenon, and confirms that what remains of it is limited to its effects. Slavery is deeply rooted in Mauritania, the last country in the world to abolish the practice in 1981. Mauritania has a population of 5.5 million people belonging to several ethnic groups.
In 2012, the Global Slavery Index estimated the proportion of people living in slavery in Mauritania at between 10 and 20 percent. That is, up to 680 thousand people.
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
Bram Dah Ould Abeid will continue to oppose the current regime through legal means, struggle and field work
Likely · Within months
Open Questions
- What are the specific details of the corruption accusations leveled by Ubaid against the current government?
- Will his resignation lead to an escalation of the struggle against the current regime outside parliament?
- What are the next steps that Abid will take in opposing the regime through legal means, struggle, and field work?
