By Kissima Diagana
NOUAKCHOTT (Reuters) -Mauritania’s President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani opened an early lead as vote-counting was underway after Saturday’s presidential election, provisional outcomes from the nation’s electoral fee confirmed.
Ghazouani was main with 49%, whereas his essential rival, outstanding anti-slavery activist Biram Dah Abeid, was at 22.68%, with round 6.49% of whole votes counted, or 283 polling stations reporting out of 4,503 by 0010 GMT.
Ghazouani, 67, a former prime soldier who’s extensively anticipated to win, has pledged to spice up funding to spur a commodities increase within the West African nation of 5 million individuals, because it prepares to start out producing .
“The last word belongs to the Mauritanian voters. I commit myself to respecting their choice,” Ghazouani mentioned after he voted within the capital early on Saturday.
Elected for a primary time period in 2019, Ghazouani is dealing with a area of six opponents, amongst them Abeid, who got here second in 2019 with over 18% of the vote.
Different challengers embody lawyer Id Mohameden M’Bareck, economist Mohamed Lemine El Mourtaji El Wafi, and Hamadi Sidi El Mokhtar of the Islamist Tewassoul occasion.
Casting his poll quickly after polls opened within the capital Nouakchott, 39-year-old geographer Mohamed Cheikh Hadrami mentioned he had voted for a candidate “who will be able to reconcile Mauritanians”. He declined to say who he had voted for.
Some 2 million individuals have been registered to vote, with main election points together with preventing corruption and creating jobs for the younger.
If re-elected, Ghazouani has promised a pure gas-fired energy plant from the Better Tortue Ahmeyin offshore fuel venture, which is on observe to start out manufacturing by the tip of the yr. He has additionally pledged to put money into renewable power and broaden gold, uranium and iron-ore mining.
Ghazouani has presided with relative stability since 2019, whereas Mauritania’s Sahel neighbours, together with Mali, battle with Islamist insurgencies which have led to army coups.
Mauritania has not recorded a militant assault on its soil lately and Ghazouani, who chairs the African Union, has promised to handle Islamist threats.
Abeid is difficult Ghazouani on his human rights document and the marginalisation of Mauritania’s Black African inhabitants, whereas El Mokhtar has a following amongst conservative and non secular voters.
“President Ghazouani will likely win the vote in the first round,” mentioned Mucahid Durmaz, senior West Africa analyst in danger intelligence firm Verisk (NASDAQ:) Maplecroft.
“The president’s re-election bid has been boosted by the ruling party’s landslide victory in legislative elections last year,” he added.
If no candidate receives greater than 50% of the vote, the election will go to a second spherical.
Within the final election, some opposition candidates questioned the credibility of the vote, sparking small-scale protests.
“Everything indicates that people want change. I will have no problem recognising the results of a transparent election, but in case of fraud we’ll not hesitate to call it a rigged election,” El Mokhtar mentioned after voting.
El Mokhtar was third with 14.42% of the vote, in accordance with the provisional outcomes on Saturday.