Incumbent Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani was set to win Mauritania’s presidential election by a comfortable margin, the electoral commission said Sunday, with nearly all ballots counted.

But the main opposition leader cast doubt on the results, promising “peaceful” dissent.

Mauritanians voted Saturday to choose between seven candidates vying to lead the sprawling nation, which has largely withstood the tide of jihadism in the region and is set to become a gas producer.

With 99 percent of the votes counted by Sunday afternoon, national election commission Ceni forecast that former general Ghazouani would garner more than 56 percent of votes cast.

That would put him well ahead of rival and human rights campaigner Biram Dah Abeid, who Ceni predicted would win 22 percent of the vote.

Abeid said on Sunday that he would not recognise the results of “Ghazouani’s Ceni”.

“We will only recognise our own results, and therefore we will take to the streets” to refuse the electoral commission count, he said.

But he insisted their response would be “peaceful”, calling on the army and the security forces “not to follow the orders of the regime”.

Late Sunday afternoon, his opposition headquarters had been surrounded by the security forces, an AFP journalist noted.

– AU, EU observers –

Ghazouani’s other main rival, leader of the Islamist Tewassoul party, Hamadi Ould Sid’ El Moctar, was currently counted as holding 13 percent of the vote.

He said he would “remain attentive” to any breach of voting regulations.

Overall turnout was estimated at 55 percent.

A 2019 election brought Ghazouani to power, marking the first transition between two elected presidents since independence from France in 1960 and a series of coups from 1978 to 2008.

While the Sahel has in recent years seen a string of military coups and escalating jihadism, particularly in Mali, Mauritania has not seen an attack since 2011.

Ghazouani has made helping the young a key priority in a country of 4.9 million people, where almost three quarters are aged under 35.

The opposition strongly contested the legislative elections a year ago, which were won by Ghazouani’s party.

The African Union sent a team of 27 short-term observers, while the European Union has sent three election experts.

The Mauritanian government has set up a national election monitoring body, which the opposition has denounced as a tool for manipulating the ballot.

Official results were set to be announced late Sunday or Monday.

AFP

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