The lobbying deal was allegedly brokered by Mauritania's then-president Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz who was jailed earlier this month in an unconnected corruption case (Dispatches 6/12/23 Abdel Aziz goes to jail)...

Ex-President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz has just returned home after a week of detention and interrogation by police over allegations of corruption during his 11 years in office...

Originally arranged as a half-year review of progress since the last such gathering at Pau in southern France in January the Nouakchott summit was a chance for Mauritania's new president Mohamed Ould Ghazouani to demonstrate the continuation of the Sahel-focussed strategy established by his predecessor Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz despite their deep domestic political differences (AC Vol 61 No 2 Sahel summit's fighting talk and Vol 60 No 23 Démarches et détente)...

Ghazouani has been making overtures to the opposition and critics of President Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz whom he succeeded in August (AC Vol 60 No 13 Ghazouani's modest mandate & Vol 60 No 23 Démarches et détente)...

Ghazouani's strategy marks a contrast with the style of his ex-military strongman predecessor Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz (AC Vol 60 No 13 Ghazouani's modest mandate)...

Anything other than victory for the chosen successor of President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz would have been astonishing – and it was certainly no surprise when the electoral commission announced that Ghazouani had cleared the 50% hurdle...

An ally of retiring President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz the Defence Minister has the state and the ruling Union pour la République's formidable electoral machine behind him...

The announcement that Defence Minister Mohamed Ould Cheikh el Ghazouani is to be the ruling Union pour la République (UPR) candidate in this year's presidential elections has ended the lengthy speculation over whether President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz would stand again...