2003 Mauritanian presidential election

Presidential elections were held in Mauritania on 7 November 2003. As expected, incumbent President Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya was easily re-elected against weak opposition. The opposition alleged election fraud, and Taya's main challenger, former military ruler Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla (the man who Taya ousted when he seized power in December 1984), was arrested both immediately before and after the vote.[1] The elections saw two notable firsts; Aicha Bint Jeddane was the country's first female presidential candidate, and Messaoud Ould Boulkheir was the first descendant of slaves to run for the office.[2]

2003 Mauritanian presidential election

7 November 2003
Turnout	60.86%
Nominee Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla Party DSRP Independent Popular vote 438,915 123,244 Percentage 66.69% 18.73%
President before election Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya DSRP Elected President Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya DSRP

The elections took place a few months after a violent unsuccessful coup attempt in June 2003, and Taya was overthrown in a coup two years later, in August 2005.

Results

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya	Democratic and Social Republican Party	438,915	66.69
	Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla	Independent	123,244	18.73
	Ahmed Ould Daddah	Independent	45,314	6.89
	Messaoud Ould Boulkheir	Independent	33,089	5.03
	Moulaye Elhacen Ould Jeid	Independent	9,768	1.48
	Aïcha Mint Jedaane	Independent	3,100	0.47
Against all			4,718	0.72
Total			658,148	100.00
Valid votes			658,148	97.71
Invalid/blank votes			15,443	2.29
Total votes			673,591	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			1,106,827	60.86
Source: Europa, IFES, IDEA

References

1. Top Mauritanian politician held BBC News, 9 November 2003
2. Mauritania's hour postponed Archived 2006-09-25 at the Wayback Machine Al-Ahram Weekly, 13–19 November 2005