Mauritania's military ruler gave up power Wednesday to clear the way for his candidacy in elections meant to return civilian rule to the desert West African nation.Gen. Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz said in an address to the nation that he was relinquishing all civilian and military functions to conform with constitutional regulations governing military rulers' participation in the coup-prone country's balloting.
Power was to be transferred to Senate president Ba Mamadou Mbare pending his official swearing in.
Mbare will become the first-ever black leader of the Arab-dominated nation, where Mauritanians of sub-Saharan descent are still marginalized. Some continue to work in conditions of familial servitude that activists call slavery.
The junta's coup in August ousted Mauritania's first freely elected president since the country's independence from France in 1960.
The African Union suspended Mauritania from membership and last month said it was imposing travel bans and asset freezes on officials involved in the coup. Fresh elections are scheduled for June 6.
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