It feels good to be right sometimes. Really good.

When Mauritania’s military staged a bloodless coup against the president last year, I thought it might be wrong — especially given the focus of this blog — to support such a move. Every government in the world was condemning it; the United States more than anyone, with the official statement being, “We oppose any attempts by rogue elements to change governments through extra-constitutional or violent means.”

But when preaching democracy, this statement struck me as highly hypocritical. President Taya himself had come to power in an unconstitutional coup over two decades ago and has ruled like a true totalitarian despot ever since. The people of Mauritania wanted him out but had no real democratic way of doing so. They wanted real democracy. So the military did something about it.

The military junta has promised to rule for no more than two years while setting up the institutional framework through which Mauritania’s democracy will function. With have consulted with and taken into account all of the country’s major groups, cutting across ethnic, class, and political lines. Every party in the country, except for two minor ones, are supporting the intitiative.

Today is day one on the path of reforms. The junta put forward a referendum on initial democratic reforms — decided on by these groups at large — to be voted on by the public. And boy did they vote. Nearly three fourths of all registered voters showed, with 97% voting in favor of the changes. What were these changes? Only some of the most historic in the entire region! It will limit presidential terms to two, five years each, in order to assure changes of power no matter what. It will also make every elected president swear to Allah that he will not try to change this, as other sub-Saharan African leaders do. Further referendums will come, with parliamentary and presidential elections in less than a year.

The United States’ concern about the military takeover were premature, as they’ve kept there promise. But why did they?

Well, military governments are different from any kind of authoritarian system. Most of the time, they intervene in order to provide stability and direction temporarily. They usually stay on longer than they say they will, but in general the military eventually re-relegates itself back to the professional sphere. In the case of Mauritania, President Taya’s illegitimate, despotic rule was radicalizing the populace., causing this instability. The process that the country is udergoing now is pacting, where all of the country’s groups come together and work out the kind of system that they think is fair to live under. The military is playing the mediator rather than the dictator. The juntas actions have mirrored and spoken louder than its words. By all accounts, I believe that it will follow through with its promise to restore democracy within the year.