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Mauritania inaugurates Abdallahi

Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi was inaugurated as Mauritania's freely elected president -- fulfilling a military junta's promise to bring democracy to the coup-plagued nation.

About 800 invited guests packed the Palace of Congress for the ceremony on Thursday, while thousands congregated outside with radios to follow the event. He was welcomed by praise singers, soldiers and schoolchildren wearing the national colors of green and yellow.

People gathered around televisions in the capital of Nouakchott to watch the first elected handover of power in their country's history.

"I commit myself to take on my duties with all fidelity and impartiality, to respect the Constitution and to abstain from changing its provisions relating to the presidential mandate," Abdallahi said in his inaugural address.

Perched on the western edge of the Sahara Desert, Mauritania has experienced 10 coups or attempted coups since gaining independence from France in 1960.

The latest, in 2005, overthrew 21-year ruler Maaoya Sid'Ahmed Ould Taya.

But the leaders of that coup vowed that their goal was only to unseat Taya -- widely seen as rigging elections and abusing his power.

Thursday's ceremony marks the exit of this group -- a ruling junta of military leaders who organized the elections but held fast to a promise not to run or support a candidate.

Heads of state of six African countries attended the inauguration, along with high-ranking diplomats including US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte.

Negroponte met with Abdallahi earlier in the day and said that he expected the country -- which shares borders with Algeria and disputed Western Sahara -- to be a partner in US-led counterterrorism efforts.

"Our interest for Mauritania is, above all, to support the democratic transition and good governance," Negroponte said after the meeting.

He added that he expected cooperation between the two countries to touch on "the domains of politics, economics and security -- notably the war against international terrorism."

Abdallahi, 69, was minister of finance in one previous administration and minister of fishing under Taya. He fell out with Taya in 1987 and spent six months under house arrest.

He won a runoff vote last month with 53 percent of the ballot, compared with 47 percent for his rival, a longtime opposition leader.

Abdallahi had been seen by many as a coalition candidate -- supported by a group of 18 parties along with Taya's former party.

Abdallahi has promised to concentrate on resolving ethic and socio-economic problems in Mauritania -- a poor country populated mostly by Muslim nomads or former nomads that continues to struggle with vestiges of slavery despite laws against the practice.
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