Ahmed Murad (Cairo)
On June 29, Mauritanian voters will choose a president for the next five years, from among 7 candidates, the most prominent of whom is the outgoing president, Mohamed Ould Sheikh Al-Ghazouani.
Despite the slight increase in the number of candidates in the 2024 elections compared to the 2019 elections, in which six candidates competed, the security and economic conditions, and the geopolitical circumstances surrounding the Mauritanian state from the eastern and southern sides, may limit the opportunities of new candidates, and burden the electoral bloc of the current president.
Mauritanian analyst and writer Sultan Al-Ban considered that the security conditions witnessed by neighboring African countries, especially what is happening in neighboring Mali, are at the top of the factors that decide the presidential race in Mauritania, especially with the residents of the Mauritanian border regions and villages being affected by the repercussions of armed conflicts in the neighboring country.
Alban said in a statement to Al-Ittihad that “what Mali is currently witnessing has made Mauritania face a real security threat, in a way that prompted the Mauritanian army to send messages in the form of maneuvers on the border strip last May,” amid increasing internal demands to maintain political, social and security stability and confront these threats. Threats.
The Mauritanian writer and analyst stated that the security disturbances taking place in Mali represent one of the factors influencing the Mauritanian voters’ vote, pointing out that this situation may reflect positively in the interest of President Ghazouani.
Alban added that Ould Ghazouani, who is running in the presidential elections for the second time, will benefit from the exceptional situation the region is going through and its effects, as well as what the local political structure witnessed with the ruling party (“Insaf”) sweeping the legislative elections in May 2023.
For his part, Mauritanian writer and analyst, Mohamed Salem Ould Dah, said that social and economic conditions greatly affect voters’ voting trends, in addition to the repercussions of security unrest on the Mauritanian border.
Ould Dah said, in a statement to Al-Ittihad, that the security and economic conditions surrounding Mauritania are in the interest of the current president, Mohamed Ould Sheikh Al-Ghazouani, which makes him the most likely candidate to win in the next presidential race.
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