What Does the Future Look Like for Mauritania After Presidential Election?
Incumbent President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani is set to return to office for another five years, amidst opposition disputing the announced results.
The Mauritanian government cut access to the internet earlier today, following yesterday’s protests against the results of Saturday’s presidential election. According to the country’s electoral commission, CENI, incumbent Mohamed Ould Ghazouaniwon the election with 56 percent of the vote, an outcome the opposition candidate Biram Dah Abeid immediately rejected.
Abeid, an anti-slavery and human rights activist, came second with 22 percent of the vote according to CENI. On Sunday, he alleged fraud during the polls, declaring the results an “electoral coup.” “We'll not accept these results from the so-called independent electoral commission. We'll use our own electoral commission to proclaim the results,” he said, imploring his supporters to peacefully protest the results.
On Monday, demonstrations ensued in the capital Nouakchott, the coastal city of Nouadhibou, and several other parts of the country.
Contrary to Abeid’s allegations of electoral malpractice, Ghazouani says the election is a marker of Mauritania’s growing democracy and its democratic process. The returning incumbent took over the presidential office in the country’s first-ever peaceful handover of power in 2019. According to African Union observers, the presidential election was peaceful.
Going into last Saturday’s polls, Ghazouani was tipped by observers to win, considering him the safe choice, as he’s seen as the stabilizing force keeping the Northwest African nation from being affected by the armed insurgency in the neighboring Sahel region. It is expected that Ghazouani, an army chief before becoming president, will continue tight security measures to ensure jihadist insurgency doesn’t find its way into Mauritania.
While security was his primary campaign concern, Ghazouani is also tasked with improving the economic fortunes of Mauritanians. Currently, about 60 percent of the population lives in poverty, with over half experiencing multidimensional poverty. After the first few rocky years of Ghazouani’s presidency, impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the effects of the Russia-Ukraine war, inflation has dropped in recent years and is expected to keep dipping, a potential boost to cost of living.
The country is also set to begin exporting liquefied natural gas (LNG), with 1,400 billion cubic meters of reserves that give it a production potential of 30 to 50 years. The revenue will no doubt boost Mauritania’s economy and provide many jobs, especially with youth unemployment at 23 percent.
Another pressing issue is an abysmal human rights record. Referred to as the last stronghold of slavery, Mauritania officially banned slavery in 1981 but it’s still a scourge. According to a Global Slavery Index report from last year, the country is one of the ten countries with the highest prevalence of modern slavery. It was estimated that 32 in every 1,000 people were in modern slavery as of 2021.
The majority of those enslaved are Afro-Mauritanians, who make up a majority of the population but have always been politically sidelined. During his first term, Ghazouani made his cabinet more inclusive, notably selecting Mohamed Ould Bilal, an Afro-Mauritanian, as his prime minister, amongst other positions for previously minor groups.
To many, Ghazouani still represents the old guard to an extent, with his background continuing the military’s overt control of government policies. It’s something of a reminder of the decades of coups and military regimes that rocked Mauritania until recently. For now, it remains to be seen how well the social and economic policies of Ghazouani’s administration will fare during this second term.
Over the course of 2024, 20 African countries will be holding elections. For more election coverage, check out our Election Tracker.