The final list of candidates taking part in Mauriania’s presidential election next month was released on Monday by the Constitutional Council.
Mr. Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, 67, has ruled this country of 4.5 million inhabitants, straddling the border between North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa, since 2019.
He is the favourite to win a second term.
The Constitutional Council rejected the candidacy of former president Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, who fell out with Mr Ghazouani under the latter’s presidency.
A former ally of Mr Ghazouani, Mr Aziz had orchestrated his election in 2019.
Currently in prison, Mr Aziz was sentenced in December 2023 to five years’ imprisonment for illicit enrichment although he maintains his claim of innocence and speaks of a conspiracy against him.
Despite an exceptional judicial authorisation to file his candidacy, the Constitutional Council rejected Mr Aziz’s application on the grounds of an insufficient number of sponsors and other technical reasons, according to a source close to the Council.
Other candidates include Hamadi Ould Sid’ El Moctar, leader of the opposition Islamist party Tewassoul, and Biram Ould Dah Ould Abeid, a human rights activist who came second in the 2019 presidential election.
Mauritania, marked by a series of coups d’Etat from 1978 to 2008, saw its first peaceful transition between two elected presidents in 2019. Although jihadism is rife in the Sahel, Mauritania has not seen an attack since 2011.
fss/abj/as/APA/AFP