Mauritania’s President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani — who is seeking a second term in office in a vote on Saturday — is promising more economic growth and social programs to eradicate poverty and prevent extremism in the vast West African desert nation, even though he is accused of corruption and mismanagement by his opponents. Mauritania positions itself as a strategic ally of the West in a region swept by coups and violence, but the country has been denounced for rights abuses. Ghazouani, who is expected to win the vote, is a former army chief who came to power in 2019 following the first democratic transition in the country’s history.
