Proposed changes to Mauritania's 1991 constitution include abolishing the upper house of parliament, or the Senate, and replacing it with elected regional councils. Changes to the country's flag are also on the ballot.

President Mohammed Ould Abdel-Aziz called for the referendum in March after more than half of the 56-seat Senate rejected the proposed abolition, which had earlier been approved by the nation's lower house of parliament.

President Mohammed Ould Abdel-Aziz may be plotting to secure another term in office

Abdel-Aziz and his supporters have accused the Senate of corruption and want to do away with it. Members of the Senate reject the allegations and have demanded an apology. The president remains adamant in his view and said at a final rally earlier in the week that the Senate "costs a lot, has no use and does nothing," while vowing to launch legal action against several senators.

About 1.4 million Mauritanians are eligible to vote in the plebiscite according to official figures, with official results expected the following day.

Vote overshadowed by violence

Only Abdel-Aziz's supporters are seeking a "Yes" vote, with one moderate opposition party seeking a "No" and the remaining parties calling for a total boycott for amendments they consider unconstitutional, hoping that a low turnout would invalidate the vote. Abdel-Aziz maintains that the amendments are aimed at promoting development and democracy in the West African nation.

Violent clashes broke out ahead of the vote especially near the capital, Nouakchott, after authorities banned several rallies planned by opponents of the changes. Thousands continued to protest despite the violence and some of the demonstrations being partly shut down by security forces using tear gas and baton rounds on Thursday.

The UN Human Rights Office said Thursday "protest leaders were reportedly beaten up and a number of them were arrested" during campaign rallies in the last few weeks, urging the government to "take all necessary measures to ensure free, transparent and credible elections."

Accusations of planned election fraud

Leading the movement against the vote, the head of the Islamic Tewassoul party, Jemil Ould Mansour, said the country's leaders had fixed "the electoral roll and voting materials to prepare fraud on a massive scale."

"Those in power are pushing people to violence by not allowing any kind of protest not in line with their own views," Mansour told reporters.

The opposition also fears that the proposed amendments were only aimed at tightening Abdel-Aziz's grip on power, thus laying the groundwork for a third term in power. The president originally came to power by coup in 2008 and was elected in 2009 and again in 2014 for a second five-year term.

In Mauritania, slavery's last bastion Born into bondage Schweda was born a slave in Mauritania's north-eastern Sahara along with her brother, Matallah. Overcoming virtually insurmountable odds, Matallah succeeded in freeing her and her nine children from slavery in March 2013.

In Mauritania, slavery's last bastion Gritty capital Twenty-five years of drought have transformed Mauritania from a nomadic to an urban society. The transition has not been easy, and with an unemployment rate of 40 percent, many Mauritanians survive on less than one dollar a day.

In Mauritania, slavery's last bastion Making do Shantytowns have sprung up on the outskirts of Nouakchott, where many former slaves, and those who left the drought-ridden countryside in search of opportunity, build homes from scrap metal and other found items.

In Mauritania, slavery's last bastion Nationwide repression Slavery in Mauritania is not unique to the countryside. Mbarka was born into slavery and lived her life serving a wealthy family in Nouakchott. She was freed in 2011 with the assistance of well-known anti-slavery activist Biram Abeid and IRA, the abolitionist organization he leads.

In Mauritania, slavery's last bastion Bringing freedom Messaoud Boubacar (left) of the anti-slavery NGO SOS Esclaves was instrumental in the freeing of Matallah (right) and the subsequent liberation of his sister and her nine children. Both are members of a 'slave caste,' known as the Hratine, and are descended from black African ethnic groups along the Senegal River who were subjugated by white Arab Berbers.

In Mauritania, slavery's last bastion 'Slave caste' The Hratine often suffer from discrimination as they are at the very bottom of the social and economic ladder. There are no reliable figures for the number of Hratine. Human rights groups estimate that 10 to 20 percent of Mauritania's 3.5 million people are slaves.

In Mauritania, slavery's last bastion Fatherless society "In slavery fathers are irrelevant, their presence is not a factor," says Massaoud Boubacar of SOS Esclaves. "There is no role for the father, because the master owns the women, and when the women give birth the master owns the children, which he might sell or do with as he pleases."

In Mauritania, slavery's last bastion Seeking justice Eleven year-old Yarg (right) is one of the very few former slaves in Mauritania to have successfully had his former master convicted for the crimes committed against him. The man was sentenced to two years in prison for a crime that should have resulted in a five-to 10-year-minimum sentence.

In Mauritania, slavery's last bastion Poverty gap Mauritania is one of the richest countries in West Africa in terms of fish stocks and mineral wealth, but the riches earned from these resources have not been shared by the general populace.

In Mauritania, slavery's last bastion Struggle for survival Matallah's family - here his wife and child - live in grinding poverty, like many Hratine and former slaves. Despite the challenges, they have retained their dignity and an uncommon positivity that a brighter future may be in store for them. Author: Robert Asher and Safa Faki, Nouakchott



Plebiscite on flag design

There will be two ballot boxes on Saturday, one for the institutional changes in the constitution and the other for an alteration to the national flag.

The current Mauritanian flag has a dark green background with a yellow Islamic crescent moon and star featured in the middle. If the motion succeeds, the flag would be altered to honor those who fought for the country's independence from its colonial master France by adding a red band at the top and bottom, representing blood spilt for the nation.

Officially called the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, the country is one of the poorest in the world and has been criticized in the past for a series of social issues, including the force-feeding of women being groomed for marriage as well as an active slave trade.

Watch video 02:07 Share Mauretanian women protest violence Send Facebook google+ Whatsapp Tumblr linkedin stumble Digg reddit Newsvine Permalink https://p.dw.com/p/18IJ1 Mauretanian women protest violence

ss/jlw (AFP, dpa)