The new president of Mauritania has taken oath of office to complete the country's historic smooth transfer of power from the military to a democratically elected civilian ruler. | Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi, 69, is the first democratically elected leader since independence from France in 1960. |
Abdallahi was picked in landmark polls last month in the overwhelmingly Muslim northwest African state. At least seven heads of states and governments drawn from west African countries and representatives of the Arab states attended the investiture in the capital, Nouakchott, on Thursday.
Abdallahi is a 69-year-old former political prisoner and ex-government minister who won 52.85 per cent of the votes in a second round run-off against Ahmed Ould Daddah, a veteran opposition leader.