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Join on Telegram Rabat – El Othmani arrived at Nouakchott airport last night and was greeted by the Mauritanian ministerial delegation headed by Mauritania’s Prime Minister Mohamed Salem Ould Bechir.
The official inauguration ceremony for Mauritania’s new president Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani will take place today in Nouakchott.
El Ghazouani won the Mauritanian presidential elections on June 22, with 52% of votes.
The Moroccan head of Government said he was “very happy to attend the investiture ceremony of the new Mauritanian president.”
“We would like to congratulate our brothers in Mauritania for the political phase that they have gone through, and that has allowed the country to obtain stability and security necessary for development,” El Othmani added in a press conference yesterday.
El Ghazouani took over from outgoing president Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, who took power in a 2008 coup, then won elections in 2009 and 2014.
The 2019 election was largely peaceful, although small demonstrations broke out after results were announced.
Read also: Mauritania’s Ruling Party Wins Presidential Election, Opposition Rejects Results
The losing candidates contested the outcome of the votes. “We reject the results of the election and we consider that they in no way express the will of the Mauritanian people,” third-place candidate Mohamed Ould Boubacar said.
The King of Morocco Mohammed VI congratulated the winning candidate when the election results were announced.
Morocco and Mauritania are looking to strengthen their relations, a point emphasized by El Othmani last night in Nouakchott.
“Morocco is aiming to further reinforce its excellent and historical relation with Mauritania,” he said.
Representatives from the US, Algeria, Egypt, Mali, and Angola amongst other states will also attend the ceremony today. While the leader of the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic Brahim Ghali also received an invitation to the investiture ceremony, his attendance is not yet confirmed. Ghali did not send a congratulatory message to El Ghazouani after the announcement of his election victory.
