Mauritania elections to be held on June 6

The Mauritanian junta, which seized power in a coup last August, announced Friday they would hold elections on June 6, according to a statement published by the official press agency AMI.

It said junta leader General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz had "instructed the government to take all the necessary action to prepare...the presidential elections planned for June 6, 2009."

Late December the Junta staged a special political forum to discuss possible election dates with political parties. The forum, boycotted by the anti-coup parties, proposed to hold elections on May 30.

The June 6 date chosen by the junta is exactly six months after the coup, which ousted the country's first democratically elected president Sidi Ould Sheikh Abdallahi.

Demanding constitutional order

The international community has widely condemned the coup and demanded a return to "constitutional order".

The African Union has threatened sanctions if this does not happen before Feb. 5.

On Thursday, security forces in Mauritania prevented ousted president Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi from entering Nouakchott with his motorcade, his spokesman told AFP.

Ould Sheikh Abdallahi was travelling to the capital to deliver a speech with proposals to end the political impasse that followed the Aug. 6 coup.

"The presidential motorcade was blocked at Wad Naga (50 kilometers, or 30 miles, southeast of Nouakchott) and the security forces told him he could not enter the capital in a motorcade," his spokesman Ahmed Ould Samba said.

"He decided that he was not completely free and decided to return to his native village Lemden."

The ousted president has been in Lemden, 250 kilometers (155 miles) from Nouakchott, since he was freed from house arrest in late December.

The presidential motorcade was blocked at Wad Naga and the security forces told him he could not enter the capital in a motorcade,

Ousted president spokesman Ahmed Ould Samba

No noisy entrance

According to a source in the security forces, Abdallahi was to be allowed into the capital if his entourage came in separate cars, but had been asked to avoid a "noisy entrance with a parade of vehicles."

The ousted president's spokesman said Abdallahi, 71, refused to be parted from the rest of his motorcade and decided to travel back to Lemden.

Abdallahi, the country's first democratically-elected president, had been expected to deliver a key speech on how to end "the political crisis," his spokesman said.

He later met with anti-coup demonstrators and agreed to the principle of fresh elections as long as several conditions were met, such as the end of military rule.

"If the conditions are met, I will work in my capacity as president of the republic to ensure favorable conditions for... legislative and presidential elections," Abdallahi's spokesman quoted him as saying.

The junta leader, General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, said he will respect the outcome of presidential elections.

If the conditions are met, I will work in my capacity as president of the republic to ensure favorable conditions for... legislative and presidential elections,

Mauritania ousted president Sidi Ould Sheikh Abdallahi