Mauritania’s Ghazouani wins re-election with 56.12% of vote: official

Around 1.9 million registered voters are set to choose between seven candidates vying to lead the West African nation, which has largely withstood the tide of extremism in the region and is set to become a gas producer. (AFP)
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NOUAKCHOTT: Mauritania's incumbent President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani has comfortably won re-election, receiving 56.12 percent of the vote in the first round of the presidential poll, the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) said Monday.
Ghazouani placed well ahead of his main rival, anti-slavery activist Biram Dah Abeid, who won 22.10 percent and said Sunday he would not recognise the results of CENI.
On Sunday, Ghazouani had 54.87 percent of the vote, while his immediate rival, anti-slavery activist Biram Dah Abeid, was at 22.86 percent, with 50.32 percent of votes counted, or just 2,211 polling stations out of 4,503 reporting by 0700 GMT, provisional results on the electoral commission’s website showed.