The electoral commission’s results indicated that Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani, the president of Mauritania, was expected to win reelection with a sizable lead. An formal declaration is expected on Monday.
Voting for seven candidates to lead the vast country that has mostly resisted the rise of jihadism in the area and is poised to become a gas producer took place on Saturday among Mauritanians.
With more than 56% of the vote, former general Ghazouani was predicted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) to win the election after all ballots were tabulated.
That would put him significantly ahead of human rights activist and leader of the nation’s opposition, Biram Dah Abeid, who CENI projected to receive 22% of the vote.
Abeid said on Sunday that he would not recognise the results of “Ghazouani’s CENI”.
“We will only recognise our own results, and therefore we will take to the streets” to refuse the electoral commission count, he said.
However, he emphasized that their reaction will be “peaceful,” urging the security services and the army “not to follow the regime’s orders.”
In the capital Nouakchott, some of his fans staged protests, blocking traffic and setting tires on fire.
An AFP correspondent said that security personnel surrounded Abeid’s campaign headquarters at the end of the afternoon. A spokesperson announced the arrest of his campaign manager.
Later in the evening, there were a lot more police in the capital.
