Mauritania's Islamic opposition party announced on Thursday that its leader will run in the June 29 presidential election, the first time in 15 years that the party has fielded a candidate.
Hammadi Ould Sid El Mokhtar will be the head of the National Assembly for Reform and Development, also known as Tewasoul. The rally was legalized in 2007 and has since become the main opposition party in Mauritania's parliament, holding 11 of the 176 members.
Tewasoul boycotted the 2014 presidential election and supported a non-party candidate in 2019.
Incumbent President Mohamed Ould Ghazani announced his candidacy for a second term on April 24 and is now the favorite to win in June polls.
Ghazouani, 67, has been at the helm of the vast West African country since 2019, bringing stability to the Sahel region in the face of rising jihadism.
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Tewasoul said he decided to field a candidate after a “long discussion” in which he came to the conclusion that “we need to change the dire situation the government has put the country in.”
“The people of Mauritania dream of this change and are counting on the dedication and action of our supporters and all opposition parties who will vote against government candidates to achieve it,” the statement said. Ta.
Nearly a dozen other candidates have announced their candidacy so far, including human rights activist Bilam Ould Dar Ould Abeid, who came second in the 2019 vote.
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Mauritania, with a population of about 4.5 million people, suffered a series of coups from 1978 to 2008 before changing power for the first time between two elected presidents in 2019.
Although jihadism has spread to other parts of the Sahel region, particularly in neighboring Mali, there have been no attacks in Mauritania since 2011.
Under the terms of a presidential order issued this month, campaigning will begin at midnight on June 14th and end at midnight on June 27th.
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