FILE - Secretary of State John Kerry stands with Biram Dah Abeid, center, and Brahim Bilal Ramdhane, right, of Mauritania as they are recognized as "2016 Trafficking in Persons Report" heroes, whose efforts have made an impact on the global fight against modern slavery, June 30, 2016, in Washington. Almost two million people go to the polls on Saturday, June 29, 2024 in Mauritania, a vast desert nation in West Africa. The outgoing President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, a former army chief and the current head of the African Union, who came to power in 2019 following the first democratic transition in the country’s history, faces seven opponents, among them Biram Dah Abeid, an anti-slavery activist who is a candidate for the third consecutive time, leaders of several opposition parties and a neurosurgeon. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)