African Studies
Utafiti: Journal of African Perspectives
Call for Papers: Utafiti is inviting you to submit your manuscript – any topic in the humanities - for consideration in the next issues.
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The political climate remained fragile owing to the fragmented state of the political opposition and the open split in the Senate within the ruling party, the ‘Union pour la République’ (upr) over President Aziz’s proposal to change the Constitution and replace the Senate with new regional councils. The upr nevertheless increased its concentration of power and executive responsibility. The death of the high-profile opposition leader, Ely Ould Mohamed Vall, on 5 May removed one of the most respected opponents to Aziz. Before his death, Vall had been expected to play an influential role in the referendum campaign on the constitutional changes. The government’s decision to tighten the blasphemy law restricted freedom of expression and thereby increased political repression. Aziz continued efforts to promote a ‘national dialogue process’, despite the fact that the most recent round of National Dialogue in October 2016 had been boycotted by the main opposition coalition, the ‘Forum National pour la Démocratie et l’Unité’ (fndu). The threat of radicalisation, violent extremism and terrorism continued to jeopardise prospects for security and development.