Mauritania: Anti-slavery campaigner to run for president in June

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Biram Oul Dah Ould Abeid

Nouakchott, Mauritania (PANA) – Anti-slavery campaigner Biram Oul Dah Ould Abeid, has announced his candidacy for the Mauritanian presidential election, scheduled for June.

Abeid, the leader of the “Initiative of resurgence and abolitionist movement (IRA)”, claimed Tuesday at a press conference that “several Mauritanian groups in urban centres, rural communities and in the dispora has asked me to present my candidacy for the next presidential election.”

He said: “I decided to accept their invitation to run because my name embodies the change that Mauritanians aspire to. A change which is in conformity with fundamental rights of everyone.”

As an anti-slavery organisation, IRA is not officially recognized by the Mauritanian State but Abeid won the United Nations Human Rights Prize in 2013 for his actions against slavery in Mauritania.

Photo: Al Akhbar

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