 The legislation establishing the national bar association provide for legal assistance to be assigned to those who do not have the means.  The Order of 8 February 2007 organizing the judiciary affirms the principle of free administration of justice and recognition of the right to legal assistance for the poor.  Legislation on torture affirms the right of any person deprived of freedom “to have access to counsel from the time of arrest or the assistance of a person of his choice as well as the possibility of rapidly obtaining legal assistance where appropriate”.  The law provides for the granting of legal assistance to victims of slavery and exempts them from payment of all legal costs and outlays.  The law on legal assistance establishes a coherent system for assistance to the poor. Paragraph 3: Political participation and decision making (Article 9) - Adoption of a national list of 20 women for national assembly elections; Adoption of a list of 18 seats in Nouakchott comprising men and women in an alternating manner (01 man, 01 woman); - Increase in the number of constituencies with three seats to be filled, with at least one reserved for a woman; - Progress in the rate of participation of women in the National Assembly from 19% in 2006 to 22.4% in 2013, in municipal councils from 30% in 2006 to 35.58% in 2013 and in the Senate from 16% in 2006 to 18% in 2010.  Presence of women in decision-making circles: - 9 out of 27 ministers are women (33%); - 31 out of 147 national assembly members, i.e. 21%; - 10 out of 56 senators; - 6 women mayors out of 218 including the President of the Urban Community of Nouakchott, the country’s capital, and 4 mayors in rural districts; - 1,317 out of 3,722 municipal councillors, i.e. 35.4%.  Senior positions in the area of human rights are held by women. They include: - the Ambassador, Permanent Representative to the United Nations and International Organizations in Geneva; and - the Chairperson of the National Commission for Human Rights. The presidential elections of June 2014 were marked by the presence of a woman among the five candidates selected. Women represent 34.6% of the civil service workforce and 5.9% of directors in the civil service. There are 9 women ministers out of 28, 3 women judges, 7 out of 30 women secretary generals, 2 women councillors in walis and 3 deputy hakems, and high level positions relating to human rights are held by women (the Ambassador, Head of the Permanent Mission to the United Nations and International Organizations in Geneva and the Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission). Women in the media: 2 out 6 television stations are run by women (the national television and a private network). 56