As all campaign activities came to an end on Saturday, Mauritanians will embrace their first presidential elections on Sunday since a military coup in 2005.

Under the scorching sun, polling station No. 10 in a stadium in the Mauritanian capital of Nouakchott was locked, with tables and chairs in place for the voting.

Among the Mauritanian population of 3 million, there were around 1.3 million registered voters to cast their ballots in the elections.

The voting was expected to kick off on Sunday at 7:00 a.m. local time (0700 GMT) and come to an end at 7:00 p.m. (1900 GMT).

Ould Abeidalla Saleh, deputy chief editor of French newspaper Horizon of the Mauritanian Information Agency, told Xinhua that he believed the election will be held in serenity and in a transparent and fair way.

The upcoming presidential elections will signal the end of the transitional period in Mauritania.

A total of 19 candidates will contend for the presidency.

Source: Xinhua