Mauritania's Incumbent President Ghazouani Secures Resounding First-Round Victory
In a decisive electoral outcome, incumbent President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani has secured a resounding victory in Mauritania's presidential election, clinching a second term in office with 56.12% of the votes cast, the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) announced on Monday.
Ghazouani's triumph was emphatic, leaving his principal rival, the anti-slavery activist Biram Dah Abeid, trailing significantly with 22.10% of the votes, according to the results revealed by CENI President Dah Ould Abdel Jelil during a press conference.
Biram Dah Abeid, however, had declared on Sunday that he would not recognize the official results ratified by the CENI, accusing the electoral body of being a tool of the ruling establishment.
The Islamist candidate from the Tawassoul party, the leading opposition force in the National Assembly, Hamadi Ould Sidi El Mokhtar, secured the third position with 12.78% of the votes, as per the announced results.
"We have done everything in our power to prepare the conditions for a fair election, and we have relatively succeeded," declared the CENI president, underscoring the commission's efforts to ensure a credible electoral process.
Ghazouani, a 67-year-old career military officer and the overwhelming favorite in the election, had previously secured a first-round victory in 2019 with a slightly lower score of 52%.
With this resounding mandate, the Mauritanian people have chosen continuity at the helm of their nation of 4.9 million inhabitants, which has not witnessed a jihadist attack on its soil since 2011, despite the prevalence of such incidents in neighboring Mali and elsewhere in the Sahel region.
The continuous publication of results from individual polling stations on an official online platform since Saturday evening left little doubt about the outcome of the election.
Ghazouani has made support for the underprivileged and youth empowerment one of his top priorities. In Mauritania, where over 70% of the population is under 35 years of age, an increasing number of young people are seeking opportunities in Europe or the United States.
As the dust settles on this decisive electoral contest, Mauritania's political landscape has been reshaped, with President Ghazouani securing a renewed mandate to chart the nation's course over the next four years, bolstered by the overwhelming support of the electorate.