Mauritania: Protesters call for parliamentary election re-run after fraud allegations

Mauritanians rallied in their country's capital of Nouakchott on Thursday, calling for a re-run of parliamentary and local elections that gave the ruling party and its allies a decisive win earlier this month.

The protest was organised by a group of opposition parties, who said there had been widespread fraud in the 13 May vote.

"The opposition will protect the people's votes and not accept this farce," Amadi Ould Sidi El Mokhtar, leader of the opposition National Rally for Reform and Development party, reportedly said at the rally.

"We will continue to defend our rights and freedoms and the interest of the country," he said. "The opposition will not remain silent about this injustice. The elections must be repeated."

The Insaf party and its allies won 116 of 180 parliamentary seats in the election, the independent electoral commission said, while opposition parties won 24 seats.

A second round of voting to settle the fate of the remaining 36 seats is to take place on Saturday.

The vote will likely give a boost to President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani ahead of presidential elections taking place next year.

The 13 May elections were the first since 2019 when Ghazouani came to power. He is widely expected to seek re-election in 2024, although he has not confirmed his plans.