The Mauritanian presidential election of 22 June 2019 was won by ruling party candidate and former Defence Minister General Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, an ally of outgoing President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz. On 1 July 2019 the Constitutional Court ruled that Ghazouani had won by 52% of the votes cast. He was elected for a five-year term of governance in this West African nation threatened by Islamic extremism. The candidates in the Mauritanian presidential election and their scores in the election are as follows:
1. Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, 483,312 votes (52.01%)
2. Biram Ould Dah Ould Abeid, anti-slavery activist, 172,656 votes (18.58%)
3. Sidi Mohamed Ould Boubacar, former prime minister, 166,058 votes (17.87%)
4. Kane Hamidou Baba, journalist, 80,916 votes (8.71%)
5. Mohamed Ould Mouloud, historian, 22,695 votes (2.44%)
6. Mohamed Lemine El Mourteji El Wafi, 3,676 votes (0.40%)
According to Mauritanian news media, 100 international monitors had observed the elections and the African Union Election Observer, which comprises 35 observers, as well as foreign embassies in Mauritania reported that the election had been run in a fair and satisfactory manner.