The chairman of Mauritania's electoral commission has resigned, saying he is
uncertain about last week's presidential election.
In a statement
Thursday, Sid'Ahmed Ould Deye said complaints from opposition candidates have
"sown doubts" in his mind about the reliability of the election.
The
leader of last year's military coup in Mauritania, Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, was
declared the winner of Saturday's poll with 52 percent of the vote. However,
three defeated candidates have filed an appeal with the country's constitutional
court, alleging massive fraud. The court has eight days to consider the
appeal.
African Union and Arab League observers have said the July 18
vote was fair, while former colonial power France said there were no major
anomalies.
General Aziz came to power last
August in a coup that toppled Mauritania's first democratically elected
president. He later resigned from the army to run in the election.
