NOUAKCHOTT - The main opposition leader has called on Mauritanians to reject ex-junta chief Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz's victory in a weekend presidential poll, dismissing the result as a "new coup d'Etat."
Mauritania's Constitutional Council on Thursday confirmed Ould Abdel Aziz as the election winner, rejecting opposition claims of fraud against the man who led the overthrow of the country's first elected president last August.
"In these difficult moments, I am calling on the Mauritanian people...to reject this new coup d'Etat," Ahmed Ould Daddah, who leads the main opposition party, told a news conference late Thursday.
He called on people to "use all forms of democratic struggle to defend their right to freely choose their governments, their freedom, their dignity, civil peace and the stability of the country."
Ould Abdel Aziz stood down as military leader in order to participate in the election.
The Constitutional Council's seal of approval for the ex-junta leader turned politician came just hours after the head of the country's electoral commission resigned, citing doubts over the "reliability" of the ballot.
Daddah praised the official, Sid'Ahmed Ould Deye, "for his refusal to assent to this electoral masquerade."
Daddah , who along with two other opposition candidates have denounced "massive fraud" in the election, demanded "a recount of the votes and a chemical analysis of the ballot papers."
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