With over 40% of votes counted, Mauritania's president leads in polls
"The last word belongs to the Mauritanian voters. I commit myself to respecting their choice," Ghazouani said after he voted in the capital.
The committee reported that votes were counted in 1,879 out of 4,503 polling stations nationwide, accounting for 42.51 percent of the total. / Photo: Reuters Archive
Incumbent Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani is leading in preliminary results of the country's presidential election, with 42 percent of votes counted.
El Ghazouani was leading in the race with 53 percent of the vote, according to figures announced early on Sunday by the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) after counting more than 42 percent of the ballots.
In second place was opposition candidate Biram Dah Abeid with 22 percent, followed by Hamadi Ould Sid' El Moctar, leader of the National Rally for Reform and Development party, with 13 percent.
Parliamentarian El-Aid Ould Mohamedan ranks fourth with 3 percent.
The committee reported that votes were counted in 1,879 out of 4,503 polling stations nationwide, accounting for 42.51 percent of the total.
The elections commission is expected to announce preliminary results of the presidential elections later on Sunday.
Hope for reconciliation
Mauritanians started to cast their ballots on Saturday to choose a new president among seven candidates.
Casting his ballot soon after polls opened in the capital Nouakchott, 39-year-old geographer Mohamed Cheikh Hadrami said he had voted for a candidate "who will be able to reconcile Mauritanians". He declined to say who he had voted for.
There are 1.9 million registered voters in the African country with a population of some 4.5 million, according to figures from the commission.
If none of the candidates are able to secure a majority, the top two candidates will go to a run-off on July 13.
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