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Mauritania: Incumbent President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz on track to win presidential election
Aziz has also been heavily involved as head of the African Union in efforts to end conflict in neighboring Mali, which lost half its territory to Islamic extremists in 2012, prompting a regional and international intervention to free the towns.
He has also mediated between Tuareg separatists and the Malian government in Bamako.
Opposition critics argue that the price of peace has been authoritarian rule and have decided to boycott a vote that they regard as an “electoral sham”.
The opposition parties have never accepted Abdel Aziz’s 2009 victory in an election they said was marred by “fraud”. The ruling Union for the Republic (UPR) won a large majority in parliamentary and local elections last year, which were also boycotted by the opposition.
Source: AFP
