[5] The 146 members of the National Assembly are elected by two methods (with Mauritanians being able to cast three different votes in a parallel voting system); 106 are elected from single- or multi-member electoral districts based on the departments (or moughataas) that the country is subdivided in (with the exception of Nouakchott, with the nine departments of the city being treated as a single 18-seat electoral district) using either the two-round system or proportional representation; in single-member constituencies candidates require a majority of the vote to be elected in the first round and a plurality in the second round.

[7] The COD's boycott had been criticised by the ruling UPR, with Ould Mohamed Lemine saying such action was unjustifiable "in view of the political and electoral reforms accomplished.

The beginning of the campaign was greeted with fireworks, car honking, and loud music in the streets, in the capital of Nouakchott.

[7] The UPR has also criticized Tewassoul for its links to the Muslim Brotherhood, and has called for the movement to dissociate itself from Islamists elsewhere.

[8] President Ould Abdel Aziz's party, the Union for the Republic (UPR), secured a one-seat majority in its first ever election; while the Islamist National Rally for Reform and Development secured 16 seats, becoming the second largest political force in Mauritania and leading the opposition.

Mansour claimed these irregularities could discredit the election, and stated that the party had sent a delegation to the electoral commission to complain.