Presidential election in Mauritania: the outgoing Ghazouani in the lead, the main opponent contests
Outgoing Mauritanian President El Ghazouani is well ahead after the counting of around 90% of the votes cast in Saturday’s presidential election, his main opponent having already made it known that he will not recognize the results of the vote.
Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani, a 67-year-old career soldier, holds more than 55% of the votes out of a counting rate of around 90%, according to the online platform of the Independent National Electoral Commission (Ceni) which publishes continuously , office by office, the results of the vote.
The main opponent, anti-slavery activist Biram Dah Abeid (59 years old), currently second with around 22% of the vote, declared on Sunday during a press conference that he would not recognise the results of “Ghazouani’s Ceni”, which he accuses of being used by the government.
“We will only recognize our own results and on this basis, we will take to the streets to refuse the electoral hold-up,” he insisted.
He said their refusal movement “will be peaceful” and called on the army and law enforcement “not to follow the orders of the regime.”
The Islamist candidate from Tawassoul, the leading opposition party in the National Assembly, Hamadi Ould Sidi El Mokhtar, is currently in third place with around 13% of the vote.
He said on Saturday that he would “remain vigilant for any failure” while calling on his activists to move away from anything that could create disorder and disturb people’s peace.
The Ceni has until Monday evening to pronounce the final provisional results. Mr. Ghazouani declared on the night of Saturday to Sunday that “only the Ceni has the right to publish (the results) and we must wait for it”.
The participation rate is around 55%, according to the Ceni.
During the election campaign, Mr. Ghazouani presented himself as the guarantor of stability in Mauritania, which has not experienced a jihadist attack on its soil since 2011, while they abound in neighboring Mali and elsewhere in the Sahel.
He has made helping the most deprived and young people one of his priority projects. In Mauritania, people under 35, who represent more than 70% of the population, are increasingly leaving for Europe or the United States, driven by the hope of a better life.
– “watch over the interests of the populations” –
After a first term hampered by the Covid-19 epidemic and the consequences of the war in Ukraine, Mr. Ghazouani hopes to reform further during a second five-year term thanks to favorable economic prospects, including the launch of gas production in the second half of 2024.
Facing him, six candidates promised the first real democratic change in this vast desert country of around 4.9 million inhabitants which experienced a multitude of coups d’état from 1978 to 2008, before experiencing in 2019 its first transition between two elected presidents.
No major incidents were reported in the country during the presidential vote, according to observers.
In the capital Nouakchott, calm reigned on Sunday, with the population waiting for the announcement of results. Most shops were closed.
“According to the first results, (President) Ghazouani and (opposition) Biram stand out. We ask whoever is elected to look after the interests of the population, particularly in terms of security,” Mohamed Awa, a trader, told AFP.
“I think the election went well. However, half of the people doubt the results given the conduct of the election campaign. Some say it lacked transparency. Personally, I did not notice anything that could cause concern,” said Ahmedou Seyed, a student.
The government set up a National Observatory responsible for monitoring the election, which the opposition denounced as an instrument of vote manipulation.
Do you have a real estate project in mind? Yakeey & Médias24 help you make it happen!
