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 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 (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 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