Mauritania president re-elected in stable outlier in turbulent region

Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani, president of Mauritania and leader of the Union for the Republic, waves to supporters celebrating his reelection in Nouakchott on July 01, 2024. [AFP]

Mauritania's incumbent President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani has comfortably won re-election at the helm of the vast desert nation, seen as a rock of relative stability in Africa's volatile Sahel region.

The former army chief won just over 56% of the vote, the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) said Monday, giving him a second five-year term during which Mauritania is set to become a gas producer.