The National Independent Elections Committee in Mauritania on Thursday stated  that 100 international monitors had entered the country to observe presidential elections slated for Saturday, 22 June, 2019.

Mauritanian news agencies reported Mohammed Yahya Ahmed Nah, a spokesman for the elections committee, as saying that monitors from the Carter Centre, the African Union Mission and the UN, as well as the US, Spanish and French embassies had arrived in the country.

He also noted there is a large number of monitors from local NGOs, without giving more details. Ahmed Nah added that the elections committee is ready to carry out the vote, stating that all needs have been catered for.

On Thursday, six candidates for the presidency concluded their campaigns after controversial speeches fuelled by a call by outgoing president, Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, for voters to vote for the regime’s candidate.

Abdel-Aziz – who served two terms in office – could not run for a third term because the constitution prevents presidents from holding more than two terms in office.