From the APS special envoy: Abdou Kogne Sall
Nouakchott, June 29 (APS) – The outgoing president of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania and candidate for his succession, Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani, cast his vote around 10 a.m. at the Ecole Normale Supérieure de Nouakchott, located in the country’s capital, noted the special envoy of the Senegalese Press Agency.
Dressed in a blue boubou over a white shirt, Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani, who arrived fifteen minutes after 10 a.m., slipped the envelope into the ballot box at his polling station before getting into his vehicle and driving off.
He had previously appeared before journalists speaking only in Arabic.
A crowd of supporters gathered in front of the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Nouakchott cheered the outgoing president upon his arrival and departure towards the headquarters of the Mauritanian presidency.
In the other voting centers of the capital, the electoral operations continued to take place without any major problems. Like the Ksar high school, located not far from the Ecole Normale Supérieure.
”I was able to vote without problem. I hope that everything goes peacefully and that the best person wins. We are all Mauritanians. It is therefore in everyone’s interest that the country advances and develops,” testified a voter, proudly brandishing the ink stain on his little finger.
The man in his thirties did not give any indication of the candidate in favor of whom his choice fell.
Mauritanian voters established in Nouakchott, the capital, began to fulfill their civic duty in the various electoral centers where voting started at 7 a.m.
Many of these voters dressed in traditional Mauritanian boubou began to vote in a calm atmosphere as soon as the polls opened.
Calm and serenity reigned at the opening of the polling stations while elements of the security forces crisscrossed the different axes of the city.
Nearly two million Mauritanian voters are going to the polls this Saturday to elect a President of the Republic from among seven candidates, including the outgoing head of state, Mohamed Ould Al Ghazouani.
Having come to power in 2019 following an initial democratic transition, President Al Ghazouani managed to obtain a second term.
The anti-slavery activist, Birahim Da Abeid, who came second in the previous presidential election, with more than 18% of the vote, is presented as the main opponent of the outgoing president in this election.
Mohamed Lemine Murtaji Ould Wafi, Hamadi Ould Sidi El Mokhtar, Mamadou Bocar Ba, Professor Outama Soumaré and Mouhameden Mbareck are the other candidates in this election.
Friday, the spokesperson for the Independent Electoral Commission (CENI), Mohamed Taqiyouallah Aladham, quoted by the Mauritanian Information Agency (AMI) assured that “all conditions were met to allow voters to express themselves through the ballot boxes”, guaranteeing in particular “the holding of a free and impartial vote”.
AKS/SMD
