No majority after Mauritania poll

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Results from Sunday's second round of voting for parliamentary elections in Mauritania show no party has won an overall majority.

A coalition of parties opposed to the president ousted in last year's coup won 41 of the 95 seats, the interior minister said.

Independents who come from the former ruling party have 39 seats.

Military rule is due to end next March with presidential elections.

A second round of voting was needed in 52 constituencies, where no candidate won more than 50% of the vote in the first round.

Islamists banned

The 11-member Coalition of Forces for Democratic Change, made up of parties which opposed former President Maaouiya Ould Sid Ahmed Taya, took 41 seats.

Its largest constituent is the Rally of Forces for Democracy (RFD), led by veteran opposition leader Ahmed Ould Daddah. It is the largest single party with 15 seats.

The former ruling Republican Party for Democracy and Renewal (PRDR) has seven seats.

The independent electoral commission has estimated that turnout in the second round was 70%.

Members of the military junta which seized power were banned from contesting the elections.

At least 28 political parties were competing to be represented in the National Assembly.

But Islamist parties and movements, considered to be among the most popular in the country, were banned.

This resulted in many Islamist candidates standing as independents.