Biram Dah Abeid, a leading opposition member of the Mauritanian National Assembly, announced his resignation from Parliament on Monday, 9 November 2024, during a plenary session. He cited the “generalized corruption” he sees in the current government as the reason for his departure. “I will oppose the current regime through legal means, through struggle, and on the ground,” Dah Abeid said. He added that debates within the present Parliament have become useless. During the session, Dah Abeid criticized the government’s policies and claimed that corruption is widespread, noting that prisons contain no inmates charged with corruption. He also said that the current Parliament’s discussions no longer serve a purpose. Dah Abeid has been a prominent figure in Mauritanian politics for several years. He was first elected to Parliament in 2018 while he was still in prison, and he was re‑elected in 2023. In the 2024 presidential election, he ran as a triple candidate and received about 22 % of the vote, compared with 56 % for incumbent President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani, who has been in office since 2019. He heads the Initiative for the Resurgence of Abolitionism (IRA), an organization that highlights the persistence of traditional slavery practices in Mauritania. Dah Abeid, a descendant of black slaves, has become a national symbol of the abolitionist movement in a country where political power is largely held by descendants of Arab and Berber populations. Although slavery was officially abolished in Mauritania in 1981 and the state has enacted laws against all forms of slavery, reports indicate that the practice continues in some areas. Dah Abeid has publicly denied the existence of the phenomenon, stating that the state is working to combat its remnants.
Article source: JeuneAfrique | Image credit: JeuneAfrique