Mauritania's President Ghazouani extends lead in election
Mauritania's President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani arrives to cast his vote in the country's presidential election in Nouakchott, Mauritania June 29, 2024. Reuters
Nouakchott,
Mauritania's President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani has extended his lead in the West African nation's presidential election, provisional results showed on Sunday.
Ghazouani - a 67-year-old former army chief of staff and defence minister who is widely expected to win the race in the first round - had 55.05 percent of the vote, according to results from more than 71 percent of polling stations by 1040 GMT, the electoral commission's website showed.
His main rival, anti-slavery activist Biram Dah Abeid, was at 22.87 per cent while Hamadi Sidi El Mokhtar of the Islamist Tewassoul party was third with 12.99 percent.
