The government in January 1999 ordered a rerun of local council elections held in the capital because of alleged fraud. The main opposition parties boycotted the election, and there was no explanation of what the alleged fraud involved. Mauritania s judicial system is heavily influenced by the government. More than 20 political parties and numerous nongovernmental organizations operate, but government registration requirements may now be used to block human rights and antislavery groups. A handful of black African activist groups and Islamist parties are banned.
Movement promotes black rights and is attempting to transform itself into a political party.
As many as 100,000 blacks still live in conditions of servitude. In 1996, the U.S. Congress voted to suspend all nonhumanitarian aid to Mauritania until antislavery laws are properly enforced. Black resistance movements continue to call for armed struggle against discrimination and enforced Arabization. Prepublication censorship, the arrest of journalists, and seizures and bans of newspapers devalue constitutional guarantees of free expression. Pressure on the independent print media, which are often critical of the government, continued in 1999.