Mauritania’s ruling party presidential candidate, Mohamed Cheikh El-Ghazouani, has declared himself the winner of Saturday’s presidential elections
Mr. Mohamed Cheikh El-Ghazouani, a former army general made the proclamation earlier Sunday to a crowd of supporters with the outgoing President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz by his side. With about 80% of the ballots counted, Cheikh El-Ghazouani said that he was ahead by about 50.56%. Based on these figures he stated that “There is only 20% left, but that will not change the final result,”
Sources at the National Independent Electoral Commission (Céni), place his opponents Sidi Mohamed Ould Boubacar and Biram Ould Dah Ould Ould Abeid, both around 18%. The opposition candidates, who have campaigned against continuous military rule, have pledged to support each other in the event of a second round on July 6.
Mauritanians came out en masse on Saturday in an election they hope will preserve the stability that this vast Sahelian country, usher in economic development and advance respect for human rights.
The country has experience numerous coups d‘état from 1978 to 2008. Mauritanians hope this election will bring in the first transfer of power between two elected presidents in three decades.
Pan-Africa movements and activists across the continent are closely following events in Mauritania. Africa’s economic, political and social development depends on peace and stability of member states.
Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a country in Northwest Africa. It is the eleventh largest sovereign state in Africa and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to the north and northwest, Algeria to the northeast, Mali to the east and southeast, and Senegal to the southwest.
The country derives its name from the ancient Berber kingdom of Mauretania, which existed from the 3rd century BCE into the 7th century CE in the far north of modern-day Morocco and Algeria. Approximately 90% of Mauritania’s land is within the Sahara; consequently, the population is concentrated in the south, where precipitation is slightly higher. The capital and largest city is Nouakchott, located on the Atlantic coast, which is home to around one-third of the country’s 4.3 million people. The government was overthrown on 6 August 2008, in a military coup d’état led by General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz. On 16 April 2009, Aziz resigned from the military to run for president in the 19 July elections, which he won.
