MAURITANIANS GO TO POLLS

VOTERS in the conservative West African state of Mauritania head to the polls today for legislative and local elections that will serve as a key test before presidential elections are held next year. Twenty-five parties are vying for the backing of some 1.8 million voters in the first election since President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani took over the vast, arid West African country in 2019, one of the few poles of stability in the troubled Sahel. A second round is scheduled for May 27, for half of the 176 seats in the National Assembly. |