Nouakchott - Mauritanian negotiators were Saturday racing against the clock to reach an agreement to postpone presidential elections scheduled for June 6 which were being boycotted by major opposition parties in the north-west African Islamic desert country.

The African Union, European Union, Arab League and United Nations have been mediating between the Mauritanian authorities and the opposition, which sees the elections as a charade to sweep former junta leader Mohammed Ould Abdel Aziz to power.

"Several obstacles had been cleared," said Senegalese Foreign Minister Cheikh Tidjiane Gadio, who was mediating in the negotiations in the Senegalese capital Dakar.

"We are close to an agreement," said Mohammed Ould Maouloud of the National Front of the Defence of Democracy (FNDD), one of the main pillars of the Mauritanian opposition.

The eventual agreement was expected to include a postponement of the elections until August 1, the formation of a national union government and a reorganization of the poll.

Mauritania was seen as being on the way to consolidating democracy, when Abdel Aziz ousted president Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi in a bloodless coup in August 2008.

Abdallahi, who had been elected in March 2007, was regarded as the first democratically elected president in the country of 3 million residents.

Mauritania had experienced a string of coups and the 1984-2005 dictatorship of Maaouya Ould Taya since gaining independence from France in 1960.

In April, Abdel Aziz resigned as junta leader to contest the elections in which he would only face three other candidates who were seen as having no chance of defeating him.

Opposition supporters have staged demonstrations, accusing the junta of holding political prisoners and of unilaterally imposing the electoral agenda.

Police clashed with demonstrators, several of whom were injured and detained. Such protests were then banned in the run-up to the poll.

Despite criticism of his democratic credentials, former general Abdel Aziz was seen as enjoying a certain popularity among the poorer classes after he cut prices of basic products and took measures to extend electricity and distribution of drinking water.

Abdel Aziz' coup was widely condemned by the international community, with the African Union announcing sanctions and the European Union suspending cooperation with Mauritania.

Nouakchott has, however, improved relations with some countries, such as Libya, after freezing the diplomatic relations with Israel it had established in 1999 as the only Arab country in addition to Egypt and Jordan.

Abdel Aziz' electoral campaign has focused on the fight against corruption.

His challengers include Kane Hamidou Baba, who is trying to appeal to young voters, and former prime minister Sghair Ould Mbareck.

The fourth candidate, Ibrahima Mokhtar Sarr, leads the Alliance for Justice and Democracy, which appeals to the black minority in the country straddling Arab North Africa and black Africa. (dpa)