Voters in Mauritania face 2nd round of legislative elections

NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania – Voters in Mauritania are going to the polls for a second round of legislative, municipal and regional elections under tight security as the ruling party seeks to strengthen its majority in Parliament.

President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, whose second and final term ends next year, hopes to keep the ruling party in power in the 2019 presidential election.

His Union for the Republic party secured a majority of Parliament seats in the first round of voting earlier this month while the opposition won a third of the seats.

Mauritania, like several other West African nations, faces a growing threat from extremists as well as the day-to-day challenge of underdevelopment.