Presidential elections were held in

Mauritania Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية ...

on 7 November 2003. As expected, incumbent President

Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya ( ar, معاوية ولد سيد أحمد الطايع, Ma‘āwiyah wuld Sīdi Aḥmad aṭ-Ṭāya‘ / Mu'awiya walad Sayyidi Ahmad Taya; born 28 November 1941) is a Mauritanian military officer who served as the P ...

was easily re-elected against weak opposition. The opposition alleged

election fraud Electoral fraud, sometimes referred to as election manipulation, voter fraud or vote rigging, involves illegal interference with the process of an election, either by increasing the vote share of a favored candidate, depressing the vote share of ...

, and Ould Taya's main challenger, former military ruler

Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla Ret. Col. Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidallah ( ar, محمد خونا ولد هيداله ''Muḥammad Khouna Wald Haidallah'') (born 1940) was the head of state of Mauritania (Chairman of the Military Committee for National Salvation, CMSN) from 4 Ja ...

(the man who Ould Taya ousted when he seized power in December 1984), was arrested both immediately before and after the vote. The elections saw two notable firsts; Aicha Bint Jeddane was the country's first female presidential candidate, and

Messaoud Ould Boulkheir Messaoud Ould Boulkheir ( ar, مسعود ولد بو الخير, born 1943, Fara El Kitane ar, فرع الكتان) was among the first Haratine to become a political leader in Mauritania. Messaoud also contributed towards the end of the 19 ...

was the first descendant of slaves to run for the office.Mauritania's hour postponed
Al-Ahram Weekly, 13–19 November 2005 The elections took place a few months after a violent unsuccessful coup attempt in June 2003. Ould Taya was overthrown in a coup two years later, in August 2005.

Results

References

Presidential elections in Mauritania

Election, Presidential November 2003 events in Africa {{Mauritania-election-stub