2023 Mauritanian regional elections

← 2018

13 May 2023

285 seats in 13 regional councils

Turnout

71.48% (

1.14pp)

	Vote %	Seats	+/–
El Insaf	43.13	123	−44
Tewassoul	13.49	37	+6
UDP	7.64	28	+4
El Islah	4.70	15	+15
Sawab–RAG	4.28	12	+11
AND	2.88	11	+10
El Karama	2.71	10	+8
HATEM	2.07	7	−14
UFP	1.68	5	+2
Hope MR	1.60	4	New
APP	1.58	3	0
El Vadila	1.52	4	+2
NW	1.19	4	+4
RFD	1.18	2	+1
AJD/MR+	1.12	3	−3
PMM	1.06	2	+2
Ribat	0.86	3	+3
HIWAR	0.86	4	+4
El Ravah	0.85	2	+2
CAP	0.78	1	New
CED	0.67	1	New
PSJN	0.53	1	+1
PUD	0.37	1	New
PRDR	0.37	1	New

This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.

Control of regional administrations before the election
El Insaf-led government

Regional elections were held in Mauritania on 13 May 2023, alongside parliamentary and local elections.^[1]^[2]

The elections were the first regional elections held after the first peaceful transition of power in the country as a result of the 2019 presidential elections, in which Mohamed Ould Ghazouani was elected president after incumbent Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz was not able to run due to the two-term constitutional limit.

Regional councils were first elected in Mauritania in 2018 following a 2017 constitutional referendum that abolished the Senate, replacing it with regional councils in every wilaya and a single one for the city of Nouakchott.

Those first 2018 regional elections led to the ruling party Union for the Republic (which rebranded as El Insaf in July 2022) taking control of all regional councils with an absolute majority thanks to the two-round system then applied to elect regional councils.

On 26 September 2022 an agreement between the Ministry of the Interior and Decentralisation and all political parties registered in Mauritania was reached in order to renew the Independent National Electoral Commission and hold the elections in the first semester of 2023, with parties justifying it due to climatic and logistical conditions.^[3]^[4]

Election system

On 26 September 2022 all Mauritanian political parties reached an agreement sponsored by the Ministry of Interior and Decentralisation to reform the election system ahead of the upcoming elections after weeks of meetings between all parties.^[4]

In this election, regional councils will be elected in a single round using proportional representation through the largest remainder method, with no threshold being applied. The head of the list that gets the most votes will automatically become president of the regional council.^[4]^[5]

Regional governments

The following table lists party control in each regional council. Gains for a party are highlighted in that party's colour.

Region
Adrar	El Insaf	El Insaf
Assaba	El Insaf	El Insaf
Brakna	El Insaf	El Insaf
Dakhlet Nouadhibou	El Insaf	El Insaf
Gorgol	El Insaf	El Insaf
Guidimagha	El Insaf	El Insaf
Hodh Ech Chargui	El Insaf	El Insaf
Hodh El Gharbi	El Insaf	El Insaf
Inchiri	El Insaf	El Insaf
Nouakchott	El Insaf	El Insaf
Tagant	El Insaf	El Insaf
Tiris Zemmour	El Insaf	El Insaf
Trarza	El Insaf	El Insaf

Party			Votes	%	Seats
	El Insaf		433,556	43.13%	124
		National Rally for Reform and Development (Tewassoul)	133,265	13.26%	35
		National Rally for Reform and Development, Sawab and allies (Tewassoul-Sawab)^[a]	2,311	0.23%	2
	Total for Tewassoul-led lists		135,576	13.49%	37
	Union for Democracy and Progress (UDP)		76,803	7.64%	28
	El Islah		47,252	4.70%	15
		Sawab and allies (Sawab–RAG)	40,638	4.04%	11
		Sawab, allies, Republican Front for Unity and Democracy and allies (Sawab-FRUD)^[b]	2,442	0.24%	1
	Total for Sawab–RAG-led lists		43,080	4.28%	12
	National Democratic Alliance (AND)		28,902	2.88%	11
	El Karama		27,230	2.71%	10
	Mauritanian Party of Union and Change (HATEM)		20,827	2.07%	7
		Union of the Forces of Progress (UFP)	13,954	1.39%	4
		Union of the Forces of Progress and Rally of Democratic Forces (UFP-RFD)^[c]	1,885	0.19%	1
		Union of the Forces of Progress, Alliance for Justice and Democracy/Movement for Renewal and allies (UFP-AJD/MR+)^[d]	653	0.06%	0
		Union of the Forces of Progress, Rally of Democratic Forces, Alliance for Justice and Democracy/Movement for Renewal and allies (UFP-RFD-AJD/MR+)^[e]	374	0.04%	0
	Total for UFP-led lists		16,866	1.68%	5
		Republican Front for Unity and Democracy and allies (Hope Mauritania)	14,205	1.41%	3
		Republican Front for Unity and Democracy, allies and People's Progressive Alliance (FRUD-APP)^[f]	1,949	0.19%	1
	Total for Hope Mauritania-led lists		16,154	1.60%	4
	People's Progressive Alliance (APP)		15,913	1.58%	3
	El Vadila		15,313	1.52%	4
	Nida El Watan		11,957	1.19%	4
	Rally of Democratic Forces (RFD)		11,906	1.18%	2
	Alliance for Justice and Democracy/Movement for Renewal and allies (AJD/MR+)		11,227	1.12%	3
	Party of the Mauritanian Masses (PMM)		10,612	1.06%	2
	National Cohesion for Rights and the Construction of Generations (Ribat)		8,673	0.86%	3
	Party of Conciliation and Prosperity (HIWAR)		8,627	0.86%	4
	El Ravah		8,575	0.85%	2
	Centre through Action for Progress (CAP)		7,821	0.78%	1
	Union for Planning and Building and allies (State of Justice)		6,748	0.67%	1
	Burst of Youth for the Nation (PSJN)		5,329	0.53%	1
	Party of Unity and Development (PUD)		3,707	0.37%	1
	Republican Party for Democracy and Renewal (PRDR)		2,922	0.29%	1
	Party of Construction and Progress (PCP)		2,180	0.22%	0
Blank votes			27,429	2.73%

Valid votes			1,005,185	79.71%
Null votes			255,880	20.29%

Seats				2	285

Turnout			1,261,065	71.48%
Abstentions			503,094	28.52%
Registered voters			1,764,159

Source: National Independent Election Commission (CENI)^[6]
Footnotes: ↑ Tewassoul and Sawab ran together in Tiris Zemmour. ↑ Sawab and FRUD ran together in Assaba. ↑ UFP and RFD ran together in Dakhlet Nouadhibou. ↑ UFP and AJD/MR+ ran together in Tiris Zemmour. ↑ UFP, RFD and AJD/MR+ ran together in Inchiri. ↑ FRUD and APP ran together in Tiris Zemmour.

Party		Votes	%	Seats	±
	El Insaf	16,221	48.81%	8	-1
	El Islah	6,955	20.93%	3	New
	National Rally for Reform and Development (Tewassoul)	3,642	10.96%	2	=
	National Democratic Alliance (AND)	1,320	3.97%	1	New
	Mauritanian Party of Union and Change (HATEM)	1,077	3.24%	1	New
	Sawab–RAG	867	2.61%	0	-1
	People's Progressive Alliance (APP)	856	2.58%	0	-1
	National Cohesion for Rights and the Construction of Generations (Ribat)	573	1.72%	0	New
	Rally of Democratic Forces (RFD)	531	1.60%	0	=
Blank votes		1,194	3.58%

Valid votes		33,236	86.63%
Null votes		5,130	13.37%

Seats				15	=

Turnout		38,366	71.94%
Abstentions		14,965	28.06%
Registered voters		53,331

Source: National Independent Election Commission (CENI)^[6]

Party		Votes	%	Seats	±
	El Insaf	40,617	46.89%	12	-4
	National Rally for Reform and Development (Tewassoul)	18,390	21.23%	5	n/a
	Nida El Watan	11,957	13.80%	4	New
	El Islah	4,723	5.45%	1	+1
	Mauritanian Party of Union and Change (HATEM)	2,670	3.08%	1	n/a
	Union of the Forces of Progress (UFP)	2,576	2.97%	1	+1
	Sawab and Republican Front for Unity and Democracy (Sawab-FRUD)	2,442	2.82%	1	New
	People's Progressive Alliance (APP)	736	0.85%	0	New
	National Cohesion for Rights and the Construction of Generations (Ribat)	655	0.76%	0	New
Blank votes		1,858	2.15%

Valid votes		86,624	71.77%
Null votes		34,072	28.23%

Seats				25	=

Turnout		120,696	73.40%
Abstentions		43,746	26.52%
Registered voters		164,442

Source: National Independent Election Commission (CENI)^[6]

Party		Votes	%	Seats	±
	El Insaf	55,313	50.22%	13	-1
	National Rally for Reform and Development (Tewassoul)	9,443	8.57%	2	-1
	Union for Democracy and Progress (UDP)	7,990	7.25%	2	New
	El Karama	6,694	6.08%	2	+1
	El Vadila	5,682	5.16%	1	-1
	Party of Conciliation and Prosperity (HIWAR)	5,423	4.92%	1	New
	Union of the Forces of Progress (UFP)	4,214	3.83%	1	New
	Sawab–RAG	3,896	3.54%	1	=
	People's Progressive Alliance (APP)	3,456	3.14%	1	=
	National Democratic Alliance (AND)	2,209	2.01%	1	=
	Rally of Democratic Forces (RFD)	2,083	1.89%	0	-1
Blank votes		3,734	3.39%

Valid votes		110,137	79.92%
Null votes		27,678	20.08%

Seats				25	=

Turnout		137,815	76.53%
Abstentions		42,263	23.47%
Registered voters		180,078

Source: National Independent Election Commission (CENI)^[6]

Party		Votes	%	Seats	±
	El Insaf	10,470	26.33%	6	-5
	El Karama	7,742	19.47%	4	New
	National Rally for Reform and Development (Tewassoul)	3,858	9.70%	2	-6
	Sawab–RAG	2,412	6.07%	1	+1
	Alliance for Justice and Democracy/Movement for Renewal (AJD/MR)	2,313	5.82%	1	+1
	Republican Front for Unity and Democracy (FRUD)	1,958	4.92%	1	New
	Union of the Forces of Progress and Rally of Democratic Forces (UFP-RFD)	1,885	4.74%	1	+1
	Union for Democracy and Progress (UDP)	1,608	4.04%	1	+1
	National Cohesion for Rights and the Construction of Generations (Ribat)	1,033	2.60%	1	n/a
	Party of Conciliation and Prosperity (HIWAR)	973	2.45%	1	New
	National Democratic Alliance (AND)	955	2.40%	1	n/a
	El Islah	800	2.01%	1	+1
	Burst of Youth for the Nation (PSJN)	734	1.85%	0	New
	People's Progressive Alliance (APP)	627	1.58%	0	n/a
	El Ravah	580	1.46%	0	New
	Party of Unity and Development (PUD)	421	1.06%	0	=
	El Vadila	201	0.51%	0	New
Blank votes		1,197	2.99%

Valid votes		39,767	86.91%
Null votes		5,988	13.09%

Seats				21	+2

Turnout		45,755	68.88%
Abstentions		20,668	31.12%
Registered voters		66,423

Source: National Independent Election Commission (CENI)^[6]

2023 Mauritanian regional elections

Election system

Regional governments

Results

Summary by region

Adrar

Assaba

Brakna

Dakhlet Nouadhibou

Gorgol

Guidimagha

Hodh Ech Chargui

Hodh El Gharbi

Inchiri

Nouakchott

Tagant

Tiris Zemmour

Trarza

Notes

References

Related Articles

Party		Votes	%	Seats	±
	El Insaf	26,012	31.59%	8	-8
	Union for Democracy and Progress (UDP)	13,930	16.92%	4	-5
	El Karama	8,301	10.08%	3	+3
	National Democratic Alliance (AND)	5,216	6.33%	2	New
	National Rally for Reform and Development (Tewassoul)	4,402	5.35%	1	+1
	Alliance for Justice and Democracy/Movement for Renewal (AJD/MR)	3,871	4.70%	1	+1
	Burst of Youth for the Nation (PSJN)	3,866	4.69%	1	+1
	Sawab	3,578	4.35%	1	New
	Union of the Forces of Progress (UFP)	3,238	3.93%	1	+1
	Republican Party for Democracy and Renewal (PRDR)	2,922	3.55%	1	New
	Party of Conciliation and Prosperity (HIWAR)	1,747	2.12%	1	New
	El Islah	1,634	1.98%	1	New
	El Vadila	1,098	1.33%	0	=
	People's Progressive Alliance (APP)	895	1.09%	0	=
Blank votes		1,635	1.99%

Valid votes		82,345	79.46%
Null votes		21,287	20.54%

Seats				25	=

Turnout		103,632	76.49%
Abstentions		31,859	23.51%
Registered voters		135,491

Source: National Independent Election Commission (CENI)^[6]

Party		Votes	%	Seats	±
	El Insaf	19,499	31.10%	8	-7
	Union for Democracy and Progress (UDP)	18,997	30.30%	8	-3
	Sawab	8,337	13.30%	3	+3
	National Democratic Alliance (AND)	4,904	7.82%	2	New
	National Rally for Reform and Development (Tewassoul)	4,739	7.56%	2	+2
	El Vadila	2,194	3.50%	1	+1
	People's Progressive Alliance (APP)	1,669	2.66%	1	+1
	National Cohesion for Rights and the Construction of Generations (Ribat)	572	0.91%	0	New
Blank votes		1,787	2.85%

Valid votes		62,698	83.85%
Null votes		12,076	16.15%

Seats				25	=

Turnout		74,774	81.43%
Abstentions		17,052	18.57%
Registered voters		91,826

Source: National Independent Election Commission (CENI)^[6]

Party		Votes	%	Seats	±
	El Insaf	37,661	40.43%	10	-7
	Union for Democracy and Progress (UDP)	14,689	15.78%	4	+4
	El Islah	12,974	13.93%	4	New
	National Rally for Reform and Development (Tewassoul)	8,651	9.29%	2	-6
	Mauritanian Party of Union and Change (HATEM)	4,883	5.24%	1	New
	Sawab	1,845	1.98%	1	New
	National Democratic Alliance (AND)	1,712	1.84%	1	+1
	El Vadila	1,587	1.70%	1	+1
	El Karama	1,381	1.48%	1	+1
	People's Progressive Alliance (APP)	1,258	1.35%	0	New
	El Ravah	1,117	1.20%	0	=
	Union for Planning and Building (UPC)	945	1.01%	0	New
	Burst of Youth for the Nation (PSJN)	729	0.78%	0	New
Blank votes		3,708	3.99%

Valid votes		93,149	62.17%
Null votes		56,686	37.83%

Seats				25	=

Turnout		149,835	75.64%
Abstentions		49,264	24.36%
Registered voters		198,099

Source: National Independent Election Commission (CENI)^[6]

Party		Votes	%	Seats	±
	El Insaf	36,197	40.52%	10	-3
	National Rally for Reform and Development (Tewassoul)	19,417	21.74%	6	n/a
	Mauritanian Party of Union and Change (HATEM)	8,982	10.05%	3	n/a
	Union for Democracy and Progress (UDP)	6,832	7.65%	2	+2
	El Islah	6,524	7.30%	2	+2
	Party of the Mauritanian Masses (PMM)	4,189	4.69%	1	New
	El Vadila	2,328	2.61%	1	New
	People's Progressive Alliance (APP)	1,187	1.33%	0	New
	Sawab	1,105	1.24%	0	=
	Rally of Democratic Forces (RFD)	589	0.66%	0	New
	National Cohesion for Rights and the Construction of Generations (Ribat)	460	0.51%	0	New
Blank votes		1,523	1.70%

Valid votes		89,333	75.68%
Null votes		28,703	24.32%

Seats				25	=

Turnout		118,036	77.53%
Abstentions		34,219	22.47%
Registered voters		152,255

Source: National Independent Election Commission (CENI)^[6]

Party		Votes	%	Seats	±
	El Insaf	6,049	56.39%	6	-1
	Union for Democracy and Progress (UDP)	1,440	13.42%	2	New
	National Cohesion for Rights and the Construction of Generations (Ribat)	980	9.14%	1	New
	National Rally for Reform and Development (Tewassoul)	487	4.54%	1	-1
	Party of Conciliation and Prosperity (HIWAR)	484	4.51%	1	New
	Union of the Forces of Progress, Rally of Democratic Forces and Alliance for Justice and Democracy/Movement for Renewal (UFP-RFD-AJD/MR)	374	3.49%	0	New
	Sawab	339	3.16%	0	=
	Mauritanian Party of Union and Change (HATEM)	309	2.88%	0	New
Blank votes		265	1.93%

Valid votes		10,727	88.84%
Null votes		1,348	11.16%

Seats				11	=

Turnout		12,075	61.02%
Abstentions		7,714	38.98%
Registered voters		19,789

Source: National Independent Election Commission (CENI)^[6]

Party		Votes	%	Seats	±
	El Insaf	72,217	35.41%	13	-6
	National Rally for Reform and Development (Tewassoul)	38,059	18.66%	7	n/a
	Republican Front for Unity and Democracy (FRUD)	12,247	6.01%	2	New
	Sawab	9,741	4.78%	2	+2
	National Democratic Alliance (AND)	9,016	4.42%	2	n/a
	El Islah	5,904	2.89%	1	+1
	Union for Planning and Building (UPC)	5,803	2.85%	1	New
	Alliance for Justice and Democracy/Movement for Renewal (AJD/MR)	5,043	2.47%	1	+1
	Union for Democracy and Progress (UDP)	4,684	2.02%	1	+1
	National Cohesion for Rights and the Construction of Generations (Ribat)	4,118	2.02%	1	n/a
	Union of the Forces of Progress (UFP)	3,926	1.93%	1	n/a
	Rally of Democratic Forces (RFD)	3,551	1.74%	1	+1
	People's Progressive Alliance (APP)	3,372	1.65%	1	n/a
	Party of Unity and Development (PUD)	3,286	1.61%	1	New
	El Karama	3,112	1.53%	1	+1
	Mauritanian Party of Union and Change (HATEM)	2,906	1.42%	1	n/a
	Party of the Mauritanian Masses (PMM)	2,747	1.35%	0	=
	El Ravah	2,482	1.22%	0	New
	Party of Construction and Progress (PCP)	2,180	1.07%	0	=
	El Vadila	1,829	0.90%	0	=
	Centre through Action for Progress (CAP)	1,588	0.78%	0	New
Blank votes		6,133	3.27%

Valid votes		203,944	85.15%
Null votes		35,570	14.85%

Seats				37	=

Turnout		239,514	62.75%
Abstentions		142,54	37.25%
Registered voters		381,668

Source: National Independent Election Commission (CENI)^[6]

Party		Votes	%	Seats	±
	El Insaf	23,267	65.86%	10	+2
	El Ravah	4,396	12.44%	2	New
	National Rally for Reform and Development (Tewassoul)	3,272	9.26%	2	=
	Union for Democracy and Progress (UDP)	2,349	6.65%	1	-3
	National Democratic Alliance (AND)	861	2.49%	0	n/a
	People's Progressive Alliance (APP)	690	1.95%	0	n/a
Blank votes		473	1.35%

Valid votes		35,328	85.89%
Null votes		5,802	14.11%

Seats				15	=

Turnout		41,130	73.66%
Abstentions		14,706	26.34%
Registered voters		55,836

Source: National Independent Election Commission (CENI)^[6]

Party		Votes	%	Seats	±
	El Insaf	5,673	31.41%	4	-2
	Union for Democracy and Progress (UDP)	4,284	23.72%	3	New
	National Rally for Reform and Development and Sawab (Tewassoul-Sawab)	2,311	12.79%	2	n/a
	El Islah	2,129	11.79%	1	+1
	Republican Front for Unity and Democracy and People's Progressive Alliance (FRUD-APP)	1,949	10.79%	1	n/a
	Union of the Forces of Progress and Alliance for Justice and Democracy/Movement for Renewal (UFP-AJD/MR)	653	3.61%	0	n/a
	El Vadila	394	2.18%	0	New
	National Cohesion for Rights and the Construction of Generations (Ribat)	282	1.56%	0	n/a
Blank votes		389	2.15%

Valid votes		18,064	89.76%
Null votes		2,061	10.24%

Seats				11	=

Turnout		20,125	71.41%
Abstentions		8,057	28.59%
Registered voters		28,182

Source: National Independent Election Commission (CENI)^[6]

Party		Votes	%	Seats	±
	El Insaf	84,360	60.32%	15	-2
	National Rally for Reform and Development (Tewassoul)	18,905	13.52%	3	-5
	Sawab	8,518	6.09%	2	+2
	Centre through Action for Progress (CAP)	6,233	4.46%	1	New
	El Islah	5,609	4.01%	1	New
	Rally of Democratic Forces (RFD)	5,152	3.68%	1	+1
	Party of the Mauritanian Masses (PMM)	3,676	2.63%	1	New
	National Democratic Alliance (AND)	2,709	1.94%	1	New
	People's Progressive Alliance (APP)	1,167	0.83%	0	=
Blank votes		3,533	2.52%

Valid votes		139,862	87.78%
Null votes		19,479	12.22%

Seats				25	=

Turnout		159,341	67.31%
Abstentions		77,398	32.69%
Registered voters		236,739

Source: National Independent Election Commission (CENI)^[6]

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