Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani won over 55% of the total votes cast, with 78% of the votes counted.
This places him in a hard-to-defeat position as six other presidential candidates, including his closest challenger, Biram Dah Abeid, struggle with 23% of the total votes.
Incumbent President Ghazouani held the almost secure lead in the nationwide election of Saturday, June 19, 2024.
Mauritania’s electoral commission, Commission Electorale Nationale Indépendante (CENI), announced the preliminary results on Sunday afternoon, highlighting that they were gathered after counting more than 78% of the ballots.
Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani is first, and Biram Dah Abeid is second. Hamadi Ould Sid’ El Moctar is third with 12.82%, and El-Aid Ould Mohamedan is fourth with 3.52%.
Mamadou Boukari came in fifth place with 2.38%, while Outouma Soumare ranked sixth with 2.24%, followed by Mohamed Lamine Mourteji El Wafi, who occupied seventh place with 0.97%.
CENI reported that votes were counted in 3,523 out of 4,503 polling stations nationwide, accounting for 78.15%.
Despite being accused of corruption, Incumbent Mohamed Ould Ghazouani is expected to win as he is favoured by enough Mauritanians who see him as a beacon of stability and progress.
Ghazouani, who is seeking re-election, has promised further economic growth in the country of 4.5 million.
The chairman of the African Union(AU) was the first elected president of Mauritania in 2019, marking the country’s first democratic transition.