Mauritania’s ruling party, El Insaf, won a majority of seats in the May 13, 2023 local and legislative elections.
The party secured 80 out of 176 seats in parliament, Mauritania’s independent electoral commission (CENI) announced on Sunday.
The opposition won 24 parliamentary posts, while 36 seats went to parties allied to President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, a member of the ruling party.
Tewassoul movement was the main opposition outfit. It secured nine parliamentary seats.
The ruling El Insaf also won all the 13 regional council seats and 165 out of 238 local constituency positions.
Twenty-five parties participated in the elections that saw 1.8 million people cast their ballots, a voter turnout of 71.8 per cent.
Some 36 parliamentary seats would be subjected to a run-off on May 27. Presidential elections will be held in June 2024 or earlier.
The opposition parties alleged that the polls were rigged in favour of candidates sponsored by the ruling party.
The May 2022 elections were the first since 2019, when President Ghazouani came to power.
