Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani Re-Elected

In Summary

• Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani re-elected in national vote.
• Ghazouani won over 56% of the vote, beating six opposition candidates.
• Biram Dah Abeid (22%), Hamadi Sidi el-Mokhtar (13%).
• Ghazouani, a former army chief, credited with establishing stability.
• Abeid called the election an "electoral coup" and rejected the results.
• Approximately 55% of the voters turned out

NOUAKCHATT, MAURITANIA- Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani has been re-elected as head of state following Saturday's national vote, according to provisional results.

The electoral commission's website shows that Ghazouani took over 56% of the vote, beating six opposition candidates. Anti-slavery activist Biram Dah Abeid came in second with 22%, while Hamadi Sidi el-Mokhtar of the Islamist Tewassoul party secured third place with 13%.

Analysts had predicted Ghazouani's victory in the first round. The president, a former army chief, is credited with establishing stability since his first election five years ago after decades of political unrest and frequent coups. He has maintained alliances with Western partners such as France and the US, while also keeping ties with junta-led neighbors including Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, which have recently pivoted towards Russia.

Despite Mauritania largely avoiding the Islamist insurgencies affecting neighboring Sahel states, the election results have not been without controversy. On Sunday, Mr. Abeid, who has campaigned extensively against slavery in the country, declared he would not recognize the results, calling it an “electoral coup.”

"We'll not accept these results from the so-called independent electoral commission. We'll use our own electoral commission to proclaim the results," the AFP news agency quoted him as saying. Mr. Abeid, whose grandparents were slaves, has run for presidency three times, and he finished second in the 2019 elections also won by Mr. Ghazouani. Both he and other opposition candidates alleged irregularities in that election, leading to small-scale protests.

Before this year’s election, the third-place candidate, Mr. Mokhtar, warned that his party would not accept the results if it suspected rigging, according to AFP.

The turnout for the election was about 55%, as reported by the electoral website.