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| Africa North |
| Mauritania: Ex-minister wins Presidential election |
| 2007-03-27 |
| (SomaliNet) Former cabinet minister Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi has won Mauritania's historic presidential election, the interior minister has said. "I hereby proclaim that the next president of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania will be Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi," said Interior Minister Mohamed Ahmed Ould Mohamed Lemine. He gained 53% of the ballots cast in Sunday's run-off, against 47% for opposition leader Ahmed Ould Daddah. The elections were seen as the fairest since the largely desert country gained independence from France in 1960. Mr. Abdallahi, 68, is supported by a coalition of 18 groups previously loyal to the regime of the ousted authoritarian leader, President Maaoya Sid'Ahmed Ould Taya. He was also backed by the third- and fourth-placed candidates from the first round and a leading anti-slavery campaigner. Mr. Daddah, 65, an economist and brother of Mauritania's first post-independence leader, unsuccessfully ran against Mr. Taya in 1992 and 2003. |
| Posted by:Fred |