Campaigning the Mauritanian Way and Plus

One of the few surprises in this dull and seamless campaign is that you have to bear it to the end. Ten days have gone by and we're still in the dark about who is leading the show or who is losing. In other parts of the world, mechanisms like polls, tv debates, among others help voters make their minds about candidates at an early stage. From day one, people are provided with information about where candidates stand, their ranking and approval ratings. None of this is likely to be seen in our version of electoral campaigning. Instead Mauritanians have to wait until they cast their ballots to be able to make sense of it all. It's a case of bear it or leave it. it's maddening to see that we're losing the whole point about the campaign despite all the talk about reform and change in the country. The 19 male candidates look very much at ease with the way the campaign is conducted, there's in fact no reason why they shouldn't since it costs them little else than putting up smiley faces and calm and confident postures when taking poses. Their motorcades are roaming the country and are met with shouts of joy and cheers wherever they go. When we loose serious debate to entertainment we expect to find unknowns like Rashid Mustafa flying the skies of the country and competing for presidency. The guy flies in his own jet and drives a brand-new black BMW and thinks he gets therefore everything it takes to rule our country.

Worse, the so-called serious contenders are doing nothing to stop this careless mentality of anything goes. They're in fact contributing to it. We have seen how their view of the campaign is tantamount to organizing meetings, featuring in tv time slots, touring the country and crafting wild progrmmes which no sound mind can take onboard. How far do their message get across is not the type of question they bother to ask. Immoral as it is, this across-the-board political conduct explains the campaign's lack of substance and the collective focus on the show part. One of the candidates is taking Dimi mint Abba along with him and when he goes to the podium to speak he makes sure she is there before him. His idea is that Dimi would attract curious onlookers to his meeting. The show is the bottom line.

This style of campaigning cuts deep into the political tradition of the country which is largely shaped by the current system of anarchy dating back to Taya's rule. What's the difference, say, between AOD's or Massoud's campaign and Taya's non-stop carnival-like tours nationwide. Same to me. It's mind-boggling, above anything else, to see that everybody is at home with this campaign. It makes sense to have drawbacks, failures and shortcomings but it equally defies it to have no one speaking against them.

Under these circumstances, the candidates who are most likely to suffer are those who are going about it the modern way. It takes a modern political culture to have politicians with modern vision in power. For the time being, nothing of the sort is going to happen, unfortunately. We have to wait still, my fear it will be like wating for Godot!

Political updates:

AOD is growing to like Ely and the CMJD at a time his archrival Sidioca is marking his space from both. Curious, isn't it? Yes its true, Ahmed Ould Dadah is leaning toward the camp of power, more so that he can't keep it in secret anymore. The problem is that he insists on saying it publicly in meetings, press conferences and lately in front of his supports in "Qaser Almutamaratt". Why? Certainly Ely has no interest in a public love affair with anyone, male or female. He wants to stay away from the ups and downs of the political life and subsequently won't welcome anyone pulling him back into it, least of all AOD. It is thus an unreturned love story. Maybe Ahmed is betting on its being returned one day, 11 March for example. On the other hand, Sidioca has gone lately out of his way in his relation with Ely. During his tour in the south, Sidioca may have found himself lost half way through his speeches many times, but never ever did he forgot for a second to deny having any relationship with the CMJD. Maybe he was acting on the CMJD's advice (lol). Both have interests in selling the lie.