Mauritania
Presidential Election, 29 June 2024
On 29 June 2024 Mauritania held its presidential election. The president is elected on a 5-year term by a two-round system, and there is a requirement that the president must be Muslim. The election management body is the Independent Electoral Commission (CENI). Parliament proposes a list of 22 electoral commissioners nominated by political parties and the president appoints 11 of them to CENI (IFES 2024; International IDEA n.d.).
Campaigning was only allowed for two weeks prior to the election. Most parties were unable to arrange national campaigns due to lack of resources (Africa Center For Strategic Studies 2024). The manager of the campaign for incumbent President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani created tension during the campaigning period with a statement indicating that there would not be a transition of power if Ghazouani were to lose (Allah Mayabi 2024). Opposition leaders hosted press conferences prior to the election, accusing the CENI of fraud and rigging the elections on behalf of the Ghazouani administration (Asharq Al-Awsat 2024).
Slavery remains a practice in Mauritania and its victims are often forced to vote at the direction of traffickers. Ethnic communities such as Haratines face challenges accessing citizenship and voting rights (Minority Rights Group 2024).
The last election was in 2019 and marked the first democratic transition of power since independence in 1960 (Akinyemi and Nesta Kupemba 2024). Election observers from the African Union described the 2024 pre-election period and election day as generally peaceful, reporting that CENI carried out its duties in accordance with international norms and national law. However, women were underrepresented in all stages of the electoral process (AU 2024).
55.39 per cent of eligible voters cast a ballot, a decrease since the 2019 election when the turnout was 62.66 per cent (IFES n.d.). Mohamed Ould Ghazouani was re-elected for his last term, winning the first round with 56.12 per cent of the vote (Le Monde 2024b). There were no women among the candidates for the president (IDEA 2024).
Ghazouani’s main opponent Biram Dah Abeid, receiving 22.14 per cent of the votes, rejected the results (International IDEA 2024) and questioned CENI’s independence. Accusing the Commission of fraudulently adding thousands of votes in Ghazouani’s favour (Mohamed 2024a), Abeid called for peaceful demonstrations which turned into violent protests in multiple areas of Mauritania. Several protesters were injured and three were killed (Mohamed 2024b). Abeid claimed the demonstrations were peaceful and became chaotic as a result of government use of force (Al-Haidari 2024). Following the protests, Mauritanian authorities shut down internet access nationwide (Le Monde 2024a).
Bibliography
African Center for Strategic Studies, 2024 Elections – ‘Mauritania: June 29’, 17 January 2024, https://africacenter.org/spotlight/2024-elections/mauritania/, accessed 21 February 2025
African Union (AU), ‘Mission D’Observation Électorale Del L’Union Africaine Pour L’Election Présidentielle Du 29 Juin 2024 En République Islamique De Mauritanie’ [African Union Election Observation Mission for the 29 June 2024 Presidential Election in the Islamic Republic of Mauritania], July 2024, Rapport de la Mission d’Observation Électorale de l’Union Africaine : Mauritanie 2024, accessed 20 February 2025
Akinyemi, A. and Nesta Kupemba, D., ‘Slavery, Migration and Jihadists – the Issues as Mauritania Votes’, BBC News, 29 June 2024, https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c51y81exdjlo, accessed 21 February 2025Al-Haidari, S. ‘’المعارضة الموريتانية تطعن في نتائج الانتخابات وتتوعد بتعبئة’ [Mauritanian Opposition Challenges Election Results, Vows to Mobilize], Independent Arabia, 10 July 2024, Mauritanian opposition challenges election results, vows mobilization | Independent Arabia, accessed 21 February 2025
Allah Mayabi, H., ‘'مزاعم العنف والفوضى.. نظرة على أزمة الانتخابات الراهنة في موريتانيا’,’ [Allegations of Violence and Chaos. A Look at Mauritania’s Current Election Crisis], Al Jazeera, 6 July 2024, Allegations of violence and chaos. A look at Mauritania's current election crisis | Politics | Al , Jazeera Net (aljazeera.net), accessed 21 February 2025
Asharq Al-Awsat, ‘موريتانيا: اتهام لجنة الانتخابات «بالعمل على تزوير» الاقتراع الرئاسي المرتقب’ [Mauritania: Election Commission Accused of “Working to Rig” Upcoming Presidential Vote’], 7 June 2024, موريتانيا: اتهام لجنة الانتخابات «بالعمل على تزوير» الاقتراع الرئاسي المرتقب (aawsat.com), accessed 21 February 2025
Garnett, H. A., James, T. S., and Caal-Lam, S., Electoral Integrity Global Report 2024, Electoral Integrity Project, 24 July 2024, Year+in+Elections+PEI+10+Report_FINAL.pdf (squarespace.com), accessed 21 February 2025
International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), ‘Election Guide – Islamic Republic of Mauritania’, [n.d.], IFES Election Guide | Country Profile: Mauritania, accessed 21 February 2025
—, ‘Elections in Mauritania: 2024 Presidential Election’, 24 June 2024, Elections in Mauritania: 2024 Presidential Elections (ifes.org), accessed 21 February 2025
International IDEA, Democracy Tracker, ‘Mauritania – June 2024’, Mauritania | The Global State of Democracy (idea.int), accessed 20 February 2025
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Le Monde, ‘Three Dead After Mauritania Riots Amid Post-Election Tension’, 2 July 2024a, Three dead after Mauritania riots amid post-election tension (lemonde.fr), accessed 21 February 2025
—, ‘Mauritanian President Ghazouani Confirmed Re-Elected by Court’, 4 July 2024b, Mauritanian President Ghazouani confirmed re-elected by court (lemonde.fr), accessed 21 February 2025
Minority Rights Group, ‘Mauritanian Elections 2024: The Minority Lens’, 15 May 2024, Mauritanian Elections 2024: the minority lens - Minority Rights Group, accessed 21 February 2025
Mohamed, A., ‘Mauritania’s President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani on Track for Re-Election, Provisional Results Show’, AP News, 30 June 2024a, Mauritania’s President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani on track for reelection, provisional results show | AP News, accessed 21 February 2025
—, ‘Clashes Between Police and Protesters Disputing Mauritania’s Presidential Election Result Kill 3’, AP News, 2 July 2024b, https://apnews.com/article/mauritania-election-ghazouani-abeid-protest-7165f12ca95573c91dfaf917ebbbe4dd, accessed 21 February 2025
Instances of election-related violence
Allegations of fraud
