Early results from Senegal’s presidential election on Sunday showed opposition candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye ahead, prompting his supporters to celebrate in the streets; however, his major challenger from the ruling coalition claimed a run-off would be required to decide the winner.
As the election results filtered in on Sunday, at least five of the 19 contenders in the race made comments praising Faye.
In a country of 18 million people, around 7.3 million people have registered to vote. According to state broadcaster RTS, turnout was over 71% to elect Senegal’s fifth president, peacefully, after three years of extraordinary political turbulence that fueled violent anti-government riots and strengthened opposition support.
The final preliminary results are anticipated next Tuesday. A second round of voting will take place only if no contender receives more than the 50% majority necessary to avoid a runoff.
The administration of the departing President Macky Sall, who championed investor-friendly policies but failed to ease economic hardship in one of Africa’s most stable democracies, is on the verge of collapse.
Voters had a choice of 19 candidates to succeed Sall, who is stepping down after a second term disrupted with unrest over the prosecution of fiery opposition leader Ousmane Sonko and speculation that the president was attempting to prolong his mandate beyond the constitutional limit.