Coup leader wins Mauritania poll

20/07/2009| IslamWeb

The man who ousted Mauritania's first democratically elected leader in a coup has achieved a landslide win in the country's presidential election, amid opposition claims of fraud.

Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz took 52.6 per cent of the vote, enough to avoid a run off vote, Mohamed Ould Rzeizim, the nation's interior minister, announced on Sunday.

Just hours before, several opposition candidates rejected the poll as a sham, calling it an "electoral coup".

In a joint statement, the four main challengers to Abdel Aziz said: "Firstly we firmly reject these prefabricated results, secondly we call on the international community to put in place an inquiry to shed some light on the electoral process."

Mohamed Ould Biya, a spokesman for the four opposition candidates, said electoral lists had been tampered with and voters had used fake ballot papers and identity cards during the poll to add to Abdel Aziz's tally.

But interior minister Rzeizim said there had been no formal complaints and an African Union team in the country called the elections transparent.

Opposition defeated

Neither the United Nations nor the European Union, which cut aid to Mauritania as a result of Abdel Aziz's coup in August last year, sent election observers to Mauritania.

The result must still be confirmed by Mauritania's constitutional court.

Abdel Aziz's opponents in the election included: Ahmed Ould Daddah, a veteran opposition figure; Ely Ould Mohamed Vall, another former coup leader; and Messaoud Ould Boulkheir, a politician who has spearheaded the challenge to last year's coup.

Messaoud and Ould Daddah were Abdel Aziz's closest challengers with 16.3 and 13.7 per cent of the vote, respectively, according to the interior ministry figures.

PHOTO CAPTION

Gen. Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz speaks to the press shortly after being declared the victor in the previous day's presidential election, in central Nouakchott, Mauritania Sunday, July 19, 2009.

Al-Jazeera