The Secretary-General of the General Union of Mauritanian Students, El-Tahamy Sidi Mohamed, has accused the Secretary-General of the University of Nouakchott of favoring the Secretary-General of the National Union of Mauritanian Students, Mohamed Yahya El-Moustapha, whom he described as his “brother-in-law.” He claimed that the Ministry of Higher Education’s statement was identical to that of the National Union, reinforcing suspicions of collusion in the electoral process.
During a press conference held at his campaign headquarters, Sidi Mohamed stated that the university’s Secretary-General had discriminated against him by refusing to receive him in his office when he attempted to report voting irregularities. He accused him of arrogance and authoritarianism.
He questioned why the university administration had not launched a thorough investigation despite accusations directed at their union and its members. He insisted on the need for a transparent and impartial inquiry, excluding any involvement of the university’s Secretary-General, whom he accused of supporting the National Union.
Sidi Mohamed affirmed that the General Union of Students would fully assume responsibility if concrete evidence proved any irregularity on their part. However, he rejected any intervention from the university administration in the matter, denouncing what he described as a “malicious conspiracy” against his union.
He emphasized that their union had gradually grown in student activism and had never needed to resort to fraud, recalling their electoral progress: no seats won in 2009, three seats in 2014-2015, and seven seats in 2022, compared to eleven for the National Union.
He added that if they had intended to rig the elections, they could have done so in the Faculty of Medicine, where they have significant support. However, they only secured one seat there.
He also revealed that they had audio and visual evidence proving that the National Union possessed voting cards. He claimed to have reported several violations to the university’s Secretary-General within the first hour of voting, including the use of phone-stored images of voting cards and the failure to verify voter identities.
He called for the validation of results from polling stations where no irregularities were observed and for a new vote in the annulled stations. He stressed that his union was ready to participate in elections at any time, even the very next day.
In conclusion, he addressed a request to the Minister of Higher Education, urging the generalization of scholarships for all students and financial aid for those who had not received them. He also questioned the fate of Mauritanian students abroad who had been denied scholarships.
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