Presidential election postponed

An agreement was reached to postpone until the 18 July the presidential election scheduled for 6 June. The foreign minister of Senegal made the announcement days after negotiations that were aimed at convincing opposition parties, which had originally refused to participate in the voting, to take part in the election. Gen. Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, who took power in August 2008, stepped down in April 2009 so he can run in the election. If no candidate wins the majority of votes, a run-off election will be held on 1 August.