Ml Muhammad Bham | mbham@radioislam.co.za
30 May 2023 | 09:30 CAT
3 min read

Photo Credit: Africa News

Mauritania’s parliamentary elections have delivered their verdict.

The El Insaf ruling party is rubbing its hands after an overwhelming majority in victory after winning 107 of the 176 seats in the National Assembly on Sunday, 28 May 2023.

The party was the favourite in a field of 25 parties in a country with just 1.8 million voters. It also won all 13 regional councils and 165 of the 238 local constituencies up for grabs.

President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, the veteran head of state, has welcomed the result ahead of next year’s presidential poll.

The party’s vice president Mohamed Yayha Horma said the result was expected.

“We knew we had an effective track record and a robust campaign,” he said.

“Our election campaign machine is much more powerful than the others…it gave results. If you count the number of offices and bureaus where there were reported irregularities and for which we are asking for full correction, you will see that it has absolutely no impact on this election.”

The elections are the first since 2019 the president came to power. President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani is widely expected to seek re-election in 2024, although he has not confirmed his plans.

Thirty-six other seats also went to parties allied with the president. In contrast, 24 went to the opposition and nine to the conservative Tewassoul movement, the leading opposition group in the outgoing parliament.

The official turnout was reported to be 71.8 per cent. However, the opposition complained of “massive fraud” in the elections.

“If we look at the strong presence of the Tewassoul party,” said Stubby Wedded, vice-president of the Tewassoul party, “and its popularity…throughout the campaign, it is clear that if these elections had been organised in a completely transparent manner, we would have had much better results. Despite all this, Tawassoul retains its place as the leading opposition force, which confirms its important place on the political spectrum.”