The 2005 Mauritanian coup d'état took place on 3 August 2005. The long-serving dictator Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya

Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya

Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya , was Prime Minister of Mauritania from 1981 to 1984 and president from 1984 to 2005. He guided Mauritania from military rule to democracy, and took a pro-Western stance in foreign affairs...

 was ousted by the military of Mauritania

Military of Mauritania

The military forces of Mauritania are listed by the IISS Military Balance 2007 as comprising 15,870 personnel with an additional 5,000 paramilitaries....

 and replaced by the Military Council for Justice and Democracy

Military Council for Justice and Democracy

The Military Council for Justice and Democracy was the supreme political body of Mauritania. It served as the country's interim government following the coup d'etat which ousted the President, Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya on 3 August 2005. It was led by the former director of the national police...

 while Taya was in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...

 attending the funeral of King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud. A constitutional referendum

Mauritanian constitutional referendum, 2006

A constitutional referendum was held in Mauritania on June 25, 2006 and approved by nearly 97% of voters. Following the August 2005 ouster of long-time president Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya, the new transitional military regime called the referendum on a new constitution, which limits presidents to...

, parliamentary

Mauritanian parliamentary election, 2006

Parliamentary and municipal elections in Mauritania occurred on 19 November and 3 December 2006. At least 28 political parties competed to comprise the lower house of parliament, the National Assembly; Islamist parties were banned, but many Islamists ran as independent candidates...

 and presidential

Mauritanian presidential election, 2007

A Mauritanian presidential election occurred on 11 March 2007. Since no candidate received a majority of the votes, a second round was held on 25 March between the top two candidates, Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi and Ahmed Ould Daddah...

 elections were scheduled and the coup leaders vowed not to contest any of the elections. The military government ended with the presidential election

Mauritanian presidential election, 2007

A Mauritanian presidential election occurred on 11 March 2007. Since no candidate received a majority of the votes, a second round was held on 25 March between the top two candidates, Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi and Ahmed Ould Daddah...

 on 11 March 2007.

International reaction

The African Union

African Union

The African Union is a union consisting of 54 African states. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established on 9 July 2002, the AU was formed as a successor to the Organisation of African Unity...

expressed concern and condemned all seizures of power.