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Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani emerged victorious in the nation’s presidential election, according to provisional results announced on Sunday by the electoral commission. With over 99% of polling stations reporting, Ghazouani secured re-election with more than 56% of the vote.
The results, detailed on the commission’s website, came from 4,468 out of 4,503 polling stations. Ghazouani, a 67-year-old former army chief of staff and defense minister, first took office in 2019. During his campaign, he committed to enhancing investment to stimulate a commodities boom in Mauritania, a West African country with a population of 5 million, poised to commence natural gas production by year’s end.
Political analysts had anticipated Ghazouani’s first-round victory, largely due to the dominance of Mauritania’s ruling party. Despite facing six challengers, his re-election seemed assured.
However, the election was not without controversy. Early on Sunday, opposition candidate Biram Dah Abeid rejected the provisional results, alleging irregularities. “We will not accept these results from the so-called independent electoral commission. We will use our own electoral commission to proclaim the results,” Abeid declared during a news conference in Nouakchott.
Another opposition figure, El Mokhtar, had previously warned that his party would not accept the results if they suspected electoral fraud. This echoes sentiments from the 2019 election when some opposition candidates questioned the vote’s credibility, leading to minor protests.
Preliminary data from the electoral commission indicated that voter turnout was just under 55.33%.
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