Mauritania’s President Mohamed Ould El Ghazouani. Source: File Image/Reuters
Mauritanians will vote for president on Saturday in the West African desert nation and soon-to-be gas producer, with incumbent Mohamed Ould Ghazouani facing off against six challengers.
Ghazouani, 67, a former military officer, has promised to boost investment to stimulate a commodities boom in the country of 5 million, which suffers from poverty despite its wealth of fossil fuel and mineral resources.
Ghazouani, who was elected to his first term in 2019, is widely expected to win Saturday’s vote due to his ruling party’s dominance.
His six opponents include anti-slavery activist Biram Dar Abeid, who came in second in 2019 with more than 18% of the vote, lawyer Id Mohammedan Mubarek, economist Mohamed Remine El Murtaj El Wafi and Hamadi Sidi El Mokhtar of the Islamist Tewasour party.
About two million people are registered to vote, and key issues for them include fighting corruption and creating jobs for young people.
If re-elected, Ghazouani has pledged to build a gas-fired power plant through the Greater Tortue Amein (GTA) offshore gas project, which is due to start production by the end of the year, as well as investing in renewable energy and expanding mining of gold, uranium and iron ore.
Ghazouani has ruled through a period of relative stability since 2019 as Mauritania’s Sahelian neighbours, including Mali, have struggled with Islamist insurgencies that led to military coups.
Mauritania has not recorded any militant attacks in the country in recent years, and Ghazouani, who currently chairs the African Union, has pledged to manage the Islamist threat.
Abeid, a prominent activist, has challenged Ghazouani over his record of human rights abuses and the marginalization of Mauritania’s black African population, while El Mokhtar has garnered support among conservatives and religious advocates.
Still, Ghazouani “will probably win a second term in the first round,” said Karine Gazier, a sub-Saharan Africa expert at consultancy Concerto.
If neither candidate gets more than 50 percent of the vote, the election will go to a runoff. One opposition supporter in the capital, Nouakchott, who spoke on condition of anonymity, thought Ghazouani might have a hard time winning “if the vote is transparent.”
In the last election, some opposition candidates questioned the credibility of the results, sparking small-scale protests.
Voting will open at 7am GMT and is due to close at 7pm GMT.
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