Mauritania’s President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani on track for reelection, provisional results show
Associated PressJUN 30 2024
This balloting was anticipated to test Mauritania's nascent democracy because it could have triggered its first-ever civilian-to-civilian transition, but the perks of incumbency and Ghazouani's military past seem to have prevailed. If he is confirmed the winner, the actual state of democracy in Mauritania will only be known in five years.
Ghazouani has always been the frontrunner in the presidential race, especially after his party won a majority in parliament last year. And while he is a former army chief, this is hardly why the people gave him an outright victory. After all, he brought stability to the country amid a regional crisis and ramped up ties with the EU to produce gas.