By Kissima Diagana
NOUAKCHOTT (Reuters) - Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz is sure to win re-election on Saturday but his main challenge will be to achieve a convincing turnout in polls his main rivals are boycotting.
Abdel Aziz - a Western ally in the fight against al Qaeda-linked Islamists in West Africa - has run the nation straddling black and Arab Africa since he won a 2009 vote after leading a coup the year before.
The bulk of the opposition boycotted last year's parliamentary elections and talks to try to persuade them to take part in Saturday's vote broke down in April, leaving Abdel Aziz, a former head of the presidential guard, no major rivals.
"There is no doubt he will win this election," said Abderrahmane Ould Horma, president of the Nouakchott-based Essahiva Centre for Strategic Studies.
Abdel Aziz enjoys strong support and ample electoral resources for his re-election bid compared to the scattered field of relative political novices challenging him, Horma said.
"The question is whether the opposition will be able to curb the turnout through its boycott," he added.
Two weeks of campaigning ended late on Thursday having failed to rouse much enthusiasm across the desert nation on the Western rim of the Sahara, where just over 1.3 million people will be eligible to vote.
Mauritania has reserves of iron ore, copper and gold and is trying to boost investor interest in its oil and gas.
Abdel Aziz's face dominates billboards lining dusty roads in the capital of the Islamic Republic and few see any serious threat to the hold on power enjoyed by the former head of the presidential guard.
STRONG STAND AGAINST ISLAMISTS
Abdel Aziz came to power in August 2008 when he ousted President Sidi Mohamed Ould Cheikh Abdellahi, Mauritania's first democratically elected president, whose short stint as leader was undone by fighting within his own party.
He then won a 2009 election that was contested by the opposition. Western nations soon re-engaged with Mauritania's military, which is considered one of the region's best and has taken a strong stand against Islamist groups in the country and neighbouring Mali.
On behalf of the African Union, Abdel Aziz secured a ceasefire between Mali's army and rebels last month.
Mauritania's internal politics remain tense, with his opponents complaining the election commission is biased and demanding the election be delayed. The Forum for Democracy and Unity (FDU) opposition coalition has labelled the vote a "carnival".
The four challengers in the boycott-reduced field are former government minister Boidel Ould Houmeid, anti-slavery campaigner Biram Ould Abeid, Ibrahima Sarr, a challenger from the 2009 vote, and Mint Moulaye Idriss, an administrator at Mauritania's national press agency and the country's second female candidate.
Mauritania officially abolished slavery in 1980, but human rights experts say it remains one of the few countries in the world where the practice still exists.
(Writing by David Lewis; Editing by Daniel Flynn and Andrew Roche)
