Political tussles between the current and former presidents of Mauritania
Former President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz stepped down last August, complying with a two-term limit, but indicated that he might run for the post again in future. He had assumed his hand-picked successor, Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, would accommodate these ambitions. Yet after several months abroad, Ould Abdel Aziz returned last November to find that Ould Ghazouani had begun carving out a new governing strategy. When the former president sought to reassert his influence over the ruling Union for the Republic (UPR) -- which he had founded -- he was spurned.
Recent events confirmed that the UPR will remain fundamentally loyal to the incumbent ruler.
The former president is likely to draw on tribal networks and personal connections within the ‘old guard’ to develop a new political force.
Ould Ghazouani will continue overtures to the opposition, perhaps hoping to offset any loss of traditional UPR support.
