Votes are being counted in Mauritania following Saturday’s presidential election with incumbent President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani holding an early lead.
Provisional results from the country’s electoral commission showed that Ghazouani was leading with 49%, while his main rival, prominent anti-slavery activist Biram Dah Abeid, was at 22.68%.
Only 6.49% of total votes have been counted so far which translate into 283 polling stations reporting out of 4,503 as at early hours of Sunday.
Some 2 million Mauritanians were registered to vote with the turnout put at 40%. Voting according to observers took place peacefully.
President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, is the current president of the African Union. He is facing six opponents in the election.
Ghazouani, 67, a former top soldier who is widely expected to win. He has pledged to boost investment in the West African country of 5 million people, ahead of the start producing natural gas.
“The last word belongs to the Mauritanian voters. I commit myself to respecting their choice,” Ghazouani said after he voted in the capital early on Saturday.
Should no candidate receive more than 50% of the vote, the election will go to a second round.
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