The first round of Mauritania’s presidential election began Saturday at 7:00 a.m. local time (0700 GMT).
Voters are casting their ballots to elect their new president from among seven candidates, including the outgoing president, Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani, and his main rival, Biram Dah Abeid, who finished second in the 2014 and 2019 presidential elections.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI), responsible for organizing the election, announced that there are more than 1.9 million registered voters.
Voting will conclude at 7:00 p.m. local time. Preliminary election results are expected to be announced in the evening, with official results to follow within the next two days. A possible second round of voting is scheduled for July 14.
