Preliminary results from the National Election Commission in Mauritania show an early lead for President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani as vote counting began in the presidential elections held earlier today, Saturday. The National Election Commission reported that after counting approximately 4.37% of votes in more than 200 out of 4503 polling stations, Ghazouani secured 45.95%, while his main anti-slavery rival, Biram Dah Abeid, received 24.64%.
Mauritanians cast their votes on Saturday, choosing between change or continuity embodied by the outgoing president Mohamed Ould Sheikh Ghazouani, who succeeded in containing jihadist expansion, unlike the situation in neighboring Sahel countries.
Ghazouani faced six candidates who promised to bring about the first true democratic change in this vast desert country with a population of around 4.9 million, which experienced numerous coups between 1978 and 2008, before recording the first transitional phase between two elected presidents in 2019 since gaining independence from France.
The outgoing president presents himself as the guarantor of the stability of a country that has not witnessed any attacks since 2011, while neighboring Mali and the Sahel region generally face many attacks. Since the start of the election campaign, the outgoing president promised to achieve a “resounding victory in the first round.” Pictures of Ghazouani with the slogan “Safe Choice” were everywhere in the capital and regions. In central Nouakchott, tents were set up where his supporters gathered to dance, sing, and discuss.
The outgoing president cast his vote in Nouakchott and told journalists, “I congratulate the voters on their high level of awareness and their democratic sense.” He praised the “peaceful and calm atmosphere” on voting day.
Ghazouani has made fighting poverty and supporting youth his priorities for the second term he aspires to. Young people under 35, who represent more than 70% of the population, are increasingly leaving their country for Europe or the United States in search of a better life.
Accusations of Fraud
After a first term overshadowed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the repercussions of the war in Ukraine, Ghazouani hopes to implement more reforms during a second term thanks to favorable economic prospects.
Between 2024 and 2026, the growth rate is expected to reach 4.9% (3.1% per capita), thanks to the start of gas production in the second half of 2024, according to World Bank estimates. The inflation rate dropped from its peak of 9.5% in 2022 to 5% in 2023, and it is expected to continue declining to reach 2.5% in 2024.
His main rivals are human rights activist Biram Dah Abeid, who came second in the last presidential elections, and Hamady Ould Sidi Mokhtar, the candidate of the Islamic “Tawassoul” party, the main opposition force in the National Assembly. Both call for radical change, “an end to mismanagement and corruption,” and a deep reform of education and the judiciary. Each of them voted on Saturday. Dah Abeid said, “The National Independent Election Commission is conspiring with Ghazouani’s supporters and helping them buy votes with public money,” calling on his supporters to “fight fraud” by all legal means. The second stated that he would remain “vigilant against any violations.”
The opposition had cast doubt on last year’s legislative elections. For its part, the Mauritanian government formed a national observatory to monitor the elections, which the opposition considers a tool for vote manipulation. Only a few international observers went to Mauritania. The African Union sent 27 short-term observers, while the European Union did not send a mission, but only three election experts.