The election was monitored by more than 200 elections observers, including those from the African Union and the Arab League. Voting opened at 7:00 a.m. UTC and lasted for twelve hours. Some Mauritanians living outside of the nation who had registered for the election were unable to vote because their names did not appear on voting lists. They say it is because they opposed the 2008 Mauritanian coup d'état. One such Mauritanian, Mohamed Sidatt, said that 300 people, including himself, who had registered to vote did not have their names on the final voting lists. Sidatt said, "I did [register] and I have a valid Mauritanian passport, but my name did not appear on the final list. And I know it's because I was an active voice against the military coup."