Mauritania 's ruling party Republican Union ( UPR ) won an absolute majority in parliament after the second round of legislative elections , according to results released Sunday.
UPR comeback in elections Saturday with a victory like that achieved in the first round of voting Nov. 23 after being boycotted by some opposition parties , especially the Muslim republic , in the former French colony on the west coast of the Sahara desert .
According to the results of the vote count Sunday, which is yet to decide 26 seats , UPR mastered 74 of the 147 seats - members of the National Assembly .
Allies of the smaller parties pushing total legislative power of the ruling party to 108 seats .
The opposition won 37 seats , 16 of them were taken by an Islamic party , Tewassoul , who took part in the elections for the first time .
Tewassoul claimed the election was marred by fraud .
After independence from France in 1960 and then a one-party government Moktar Ould Daddah was overthrown in 1978 , Mauritania 's military rulers have set up the first multi-party elections in 1992 .
The latest elections seen as a test of strength for the President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, five years after he came to power in a coup , and four years after he won a vote that was widely contested .
Mauritania is seen as strategically important in the war against al - Qaeda group in its own borders , as well as in neighboring Mali and across the Sahel region of Africa .
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