By Francesca Hangeior
Mauritania’s incumbent President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani has comfortably won re-election, receiving 56.12 percent of votes in the first round of the presidential poll, the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) said Monday.
Mauritania’s Constitutional Council on Thursday confirmed the re-election of President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani in last weekend’s elections. 
The court validated Monday’s first-round results, which put Ghazouani in the lead with 56.12 percent of the vote, ahead of his opponent Biram Dah Abeid and the Islamist candidate Hamadi Ould Sidi El Mokhtar.
No appeals were lodged with the court within the permitted timeframe after the announcement of the results from Saturday’s election, said its secretary general Aminatou Mint El Khaless at a ceremony in Nouakchott.
“In view of the results declared, Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani is elected President of the Republic of Mauritania,” she said.
“He will take office on August 2, 2024.”
The 67-year-old former army chief is widely credited with maintaining security in the West African state, which has largely withstood the tide of jihadism in the region and is set to become a gas producer.
