Mauritania - June 2024
Incumbent Ghazouani wins presidential election
Mauritania’s presidential election was held on 30 June and was won by incumbent Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani. According to the results released by the country’s Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI), Ghazouani secured a second term with 56.12 per cent of the vote. The former army chief of staff and defense minister faced six challengers in the election, none of whom were women. Ghazouani’s main opponent, anti-slavery campaigner Biram Dah Abeid, received 22.10 per cent of the vote, while Hamadi Ould Sid’ El Moctar, who heads the Islamist Tawassoul party, came third with 12.78 per cent. The result was rejected by Abeid, who alleged fraud and irregularities and announced that he had filed an appeal at the Constitutional Council. Voter turnout was reported by CENI to be 55.39 per cent of the registered voters, down from 62.66 per cent in 2019. International observers from the African Union reported the elections were held without any major incidents.
Sources: Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI), Jeune Afrique, Al Jazeera, BBC, Reuters, Le Monde, African Union, International IDEA
