As you all know by now, there was a coup in Mauritania on 6 August. The coup was sparked by the president’s sacking of senior military figures. The former president, Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi, and the prime minister were arrested. The PM has now been released, but the president is still under guard.

AP reports that 107/146 deputies and senators have signed a declaration of support for the recent coup. The remaining parliamentarians tend to be from leftist and Islamic parties, which were the ones mainly represented in the former government. The coup leaders have justified their actions by stating that President Abdallahi was being soft on Islamic terrorism. Al Qaeda has issued a statement of jihad against the new leaders.

The country is now being run by the so-called Haut Conseil d’Etat (HCE), an 11-person military junta. The new leader is General Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz. Afrique en ligne reports that they have promised a new presidential election “as soon as possible”.

According to Afrol, the HCE issued an 11-article law that gives General Abdel Aziz the right to appoint a new prime minister. On 14 August Moulaye Ould Mohamed Laghdhaf, a diplomat formerly stationed in Brussels, was appointed as the new prime minister.

While I have not seen the new law, this strongly suggests that the HCE has formally suspended the constitution. In turn, and it would be the least of any Mauritanian worries but…, this also means that Mauritania is no longer semi-presidential.