Preliminary Results Indicate That President Ghazouani Of Mauritania Is Expected To Be Re-elected

According to the provisional result revealed on Sunday, Mauritania’s President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani is on course to obtain a second mandate after portraying the country as a key ally of the West in a region devastated by coups and conflict.

Ghazouani, a former army chief and the current president of the African Union,who is seeking reelection on a pledge of providing security and economic prosperity, won 55% of votes, from over 80% polling stations, according to the country’s independent electoral body. With nearly 55% of the vote cast, his main opponent and anti-slavery activist Biram Dah Abeid, who took home 22.4% of the vote, issued a warning on Sunday against “an electoral coup d’état for the benefit of Ghazouani, who was defeated by voters.”

Although his opponents accused him of corruption and inefficiency, Ghazouani remains popular among Mauritanians who consider him as a beacon of stability. The referendum is taking place in an especially dangerous regional atmosphere, with Mauritania’s neighbors rattled by military coups and terrorist bloodshed.

Natural resources found in abundance in Mauritania include gold, oil, copper, zinc, phosphate, iron ore, and natural gas. With the scheduled start of the BP-operated Greater Tortue Ahmeyin offshore gas project at the Senegalese border, it is expected to become a gas producer by year’s end.