Incumbent Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani is leading in preliminary results of the country's presidential election held on Saturday, with 71% of votes counted.
El Ghazouani was leading in the race with 55.05% of the vote, according to figures released on Sunday by the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) after counting more than 71% of the ballots.
In second place was opposition candidate Biram Dah Abeid with 22.87%, followed by Hamadi Ould Sid' El Moctar, leader of the National Rally for Reform and Development party, with 12.99%. Parliamentarian El-Aid Ould Mohamedan ranks fourth with 3%.
The electoral commission's website reported that the tallied votes were 71% of the total.
Results expected later Sunday
The elections commission is expected to announce preliminary results of the presidential elections later on Sunday.
Mauritanians started to cast their ballots on Saturday to choose a new president among seven candidates.
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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