Opposition party pulls out of elections

The opposition party Front populaire (FP) announced yesterday that it was “freezing” its activities and withdrawing from the 29 January municipal elections in Mauritania, AFP reported. The FP said in a statement that it had taken the decision following the arrest of three opposition leaders on 16 December. Two opposition parties, the Union des forces democratiques (UFD) and the l’Union nationale pour la democratie et le developpement (UNDD) will face five presidential majority parties in the poll, the interior ministry said. The opposition leaders were detained after accusing the government of planning to agree to store Israeli nuclear waste in Mauritania.