Ely Ould Mohamed Vall Colonel Ely Ould Mohamed Vall ( ; born 1953 in Nouakchott ) is a political and military figure in Mauritania . He served as the transitional military leader of Mauritania following a " coup d ' état " in August 2005 until 19 April 2007 , when he relinquished power to an elected government . Vall was a long - time ally of President Maaouya Ould Taya , and participated in the December 1984 coup that brought Taya himself to power . Prior to the 2005 coup , he had been director of the national police force , the " Sûreté Nationale " , since 1987 . On 3 August 2005 , Taya was ousted in a bloodless military coup while he was out of the country . A group of officers took power as the Military Council for Justice and Democracy and announced that Vall was the head of the council . He did not take the title of President because he said it should be reserved for elected leaders . The new regime , condemning Ould Taya ' s government as " totalitarian " , promised to lead the country to elections and the restoration of civilian rule within two years ; a referendum on a new constitution was planned to be held within a year , and parliamentary and presidential elections would follow . Vall and the other members of the military council agreed not to run for president . The coup was greeted with widespread support within Mauritania , but outside the country there was sharp condemnation . The African Union ( which suspended Mauritania ' s membership ) , the European Union , United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan , and the United States all condemned the coup . However , this opposition weakened after several days and the regime appeared to win tacit international acceptance . Vall maintained Mauritania ' s diplomatic relationship with Israel . Mauritania and Israel initiated full diplomatic relations in 1999 under Taya , a decision which contributed to the latter ' s unpopularity . After the coup , Ahmed Ould Sid ' Ahmed , who had been Foreign Minister at the time diplomatic relations were established , was reappointed to the position . The constitutional referendum was held on June 25 , 2006 and approved by 97 % of voters . The 2006 constitution limits presidents to two five - year terms ( under Taya , presidential terms had lasted six years and there was no limit on re - election ) and requires a president to swear not to change the term limits ( several other African countries have seen term limits removed from their constitutions so that presidents could continue to run for re - election ) . Vall toured the country beforehand to promote it and called it a " historical opportunity " . Parliamentary and local elections were held on November 19 , 2006 , which Vall praised as " the first time Mauritanians have been able to express themselves freely " ; he also said that the difficulty of changing the constitution would preserve democracy in the future . Vall announced that he would step down after the March 2007 presidential election . The election was ultimately won by Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi in the second round of voting . Abdallahi ' s opponents alleged that his candidacy was supported by Vall ' s regime . Prior to the handover , Mauritania was allowed back into the African Union on April 10 . On April 19 , Abdallahi took office , completing the transition to civilian democratic rule . The military under General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz seized power again in August 2008 , ousting Abdallahi , and a new presidential election was planned . Vall announced on 6 June 2009 that he would be a candidate , running as an independent . He condemned the 2008 coup , asserting that it was " wrong and there was no reason for it " and that it had " provoked a particularly dangerous situation in our country " . He stressed , however , that his candidacy was not directed against any particular individual , and he said that his goal , if elected , was " to build a reconciled country that is politically and economically viable and stable " . He also said that he would " probably no longer be interested in public affairs " if not for the 2008 coup . Official results showed Vall performing poorly in the election , which was held on 18 July 2009 , while Abdel Aziz won a majority in the first round . At a press conference on 30 July , Vall said that the election was merely a means of legitimizing the 2008 coup and that it had effectively reverted the country to the authoritarianism it had experienced under President Taya . He also said that he would continue to struggle against Abdel Aziz ' s regime . Vall is a Board member of the Arab Democracy Foundation . He is also is a member of the Fondation Chirac ' s honour committee , ever since the foundation was launched in 2008 by former French president Jacques Chirac in order to promote world peace .