Former defence minister, Mohammed Ould Ghazouni, was sworn in as Mauritania’s newly elected president on Thursday. He won the June 22 presidential election with 52 percent of the votes.
Ghazouni was sworn in at a conference centre near the capital Nouakchott. The heads of states of 12 African countries attended the ceremony along with delegations from several Arab and European countries.
The 63-year-old Ghazouni is the tenth president of Mauritania since its independence from France in 1960. He succeeds President Mohammed Ould Abdel-Aziz, an ex-army general who came to power after a 2008 military coup and then won elections in 2009 and 2014. Abdel-Aziz was barred from seeking a third term under the constitution.
“I swear to carry out my duties with full impartiality and with respect for the law and the constitution,” Ghazouani said at the ceremony, reported Gulf Times.
In his inaugural address, Ghazouni described himself as the “president of all.” He vowed to make security a priority by strengthening the army and to help poor communities.
The outgoing President, Ould Abdel-Aziz, also voiced support for the new president.
“I am proud to hand over to an elected president the leadership of Mauritania,” he said at the ceremony held at a convention centre in a Nouakchott. “The president-elect deserves trust in his experience and efficiency.”
The June election represented Mauritania’s first democratic transition of power since independence from France in 1960. The former French colony in north-west Africa witnessed military coups in 1978, 2005 and 2008. There were many failed coup attempts reported over that decades-long period.
