In Nouakchott's cafés where political debates simmer beneath the whir of ceiling fans the sentencing of former President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz to 15 years for corruption barely raised an eyebrow...

For example Mauritania's Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz discovered this after stepping aside in 2019 for confidant Mohamed Ould Ghazouani...

The lobbying deal was allegedly brokered by Mauritania's then-president Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz who was jailed earlier this month in an unconnected corruption case (Dispatches 6/12/23 Abdel Aziz goes to jail)...

Ex-President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz has just returned home after a week of detention and interrogation by police over allegations of corruption during his 11 years in office...

Originally arranged as a half-year review of progress since the last such gathering at Pau in southern France in January the Nouakchott summit was a chance for Mauritania's new president Mohamed Ould Ghazouani to demonstrate the continuation of the Sahel-focussed strategy established by his predecessor Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz despite their deep domestic political differences (AC Vol 61 No 2 Sahel summit's fighting talk and Vol 60 No 23 Démarches et détente)...

Ghazouani has been making overtures to the opposition and critics of President Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz whom he succeeded in August (AC Vol 60 No 13 Ghazouani's modest mandate & Vol 60 No 23 Démarches et détente)...

Ghazouani's strategy marks a contrast with the style of his ex-military strongman predecessor Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz (AC Vol 60 No 13 Ghazouani's modest mandate)...

Anything other than victory for the chosen successor of President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz would have been astonishing – and it was certainly no surprise when the electoral commission announced that Ghazouani had cleared the 50% hurdle...