NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania, March 26 (UPI) -- A former government minister has won the presidential run-off election in the West African nation of Mauritania.
With most of the votes counted from Sunday's poll, the country's interior ministry says Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi received nearly 53 percent of the vote, the Voice of America reports.
Abdallahi beat long-time opposition leader Ahmed Ould Daddah who received 47 percent of the vote.
In a debate last week, Abdallahi promised to consolidate democracy and end slavery that persists in Mauritanita despite an official ban.
Election officials estimate Sunday's turnout at 67 percent, down slightly from the 70 percent turnout reported in the first round.
The elections are meant to be the final stage of Mauritania's return to democracy after a 2005 military coup.
