 The people of Mauritania head to the polls today in a presidential election that the incumbent, Mohamed Oul Ghazouani, is widely expected to win. Six other candidates are also running. Some two million people in the sparsely populated Sahel nation are registered to vote. President Ghazouani, a former army chief who's been in power since 2019, is widely credited with bringing Mauritania relative stability in contrast with its neighbours struggling with Islamist insurgencies and military coups.