The party of Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani has strengthened its majority in the National Assembly, winning a year before the presidential election 107 seats out of 176 at the end of the legislative elections, according to figures published on Sunday May 28 by the electoral commission. President Ghazouani's El Insaf party, which had 93 mandates in the outgoing Assembly, won 80 in a first vote on May 13, and 27 more on Saturday out of the 36 at stake in a second turn in the constituencies that demanded it.
The Mauritanian system mixes two methods of electing deputies, some being elected in a single round, others in two. El Insaf will also be able to count on the support of 42 deputies from allied formations. The opposition has only 27 seats. The Islamist Tewassoul party remains the second party, but with 11 seats instead of 14 in the outgoing Assembly. The ruling party also won all 13 regional councils and won two-thirds of the municipalities in the May 13 vote.
At the head of the country since 2019
Opposition parties and some majority forces challenged the regularity of the ballot and demanded a new vote. One of the elected MPs, anti-slavery activist Biram Dah Abeid, said the gravity of the situation could lead some Mauritanians to "take up arms". He was arrested and later released on Friday.
The ballot confirms President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, at the head since 2019 of this vast hinge country between North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa and a pole of stability in the Sahel in the face of the spread of jihadism. Mr. Ghazouani has not officially announced his candidacy in 2024 for a second term, but it is in no doubt for observers.
