An opposition leader in Mauritania has filed a court challenge over the country’s presidential election results.
Mohamed Ould Boubacar who came third in the election said he filed an appeal contesting the victory of ruling party candidate Mohamed Ould Ghazouani.
Reuters quotes Mohamed Ould Boubacar saying in a text message on Wednesday that “I confirm that we have appealed to the Constitutional Council.”
Mauritania’s electoral commission declared Mohamed Ould Ghazouani winner of this month’s election with 52% of the vote.
Ghazouani’s nearest challenger in the election was Biram Dah Abeid, a prominent black Mauritanian slavery campaigner.
Biram Dah Abeid, came second with 18.58%, while third place candidate Mohamed Ould Boubacar, who is backed by Mauritania’s biggest Islamist party, got 17.85%.
Biram Dah Abeid said shortly after the results were declared that “This seems like a coup d’etat. We are united and will lead the contestation (of the results).”
But the African Union has said it was satisfied with the electoral process.
Six candidates competed for the presidency but the frontrunner had always been Ould Ghazouani.
Ghazouani is the country’s defence minister and a close ally of the current president Ould Abdel Aziz.
Source: Africafeeds.com
