Magharebia

Mauritania's ruling military junta announced Thursday (December 18th) in Nouakchott that a national "democracy conference" set for December 27th will establish the framework for the next presidential election, Pana reported. All political parties and elected representatives from the country's 13 regions have reportedly been invited to take part in the conference. Following the announcement, the anti-coup block National Front for the Defence of Democracy said it will boycott the event. The Mauritanian National Assembly adopted on Wednesday (December 17th) a draft budget for the organisation of the 2009 presidential elections, AMI reported.