Incumbent Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani has won Mauritania’s presidential election, securing a second term, according to the country’s Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI).

Ghazouani, 67, won 56.12 percent of the votes in the first round of the presidential poll, well ahead of his main rival, anti-slavery activist Biram Dah Abeid, who won 22.10 percent, CENI said on Monday.