By Ken Afor
The just concluded Sunday’s presidential election in Senegal has reportedly shown that the main opposition candidate, Mr. Bassirou Diomaye Faye, is in early lead as his supporters have taken to the streets to jubilate.
However, the main contender from the ruling coalition, former Prime Minister Amadou Ba, insists that a run-off election will be necessary to ascertain the final outcome following the announcement of preliminary results.
Ba has cautioned against premature celebrations, emphasizing the need for a thorough electoral process.
“For our part, and considering the feedback of the results from our team of experts, we are certain that, in the worst case scenario, we will go to a run-off,” Ba’s campaign said in a statement.
Notwithstanding, at least five out of the 19 candidates have publicly acknowledged Faye’s lead with congratulatory messages following the announcement of the preliminary results.
One of the candidates, Mrs. Anta Babacar Ngom, the only female candidate, has reportedly congratulated Mr. Faye on his yet-to-be-announced election victory.
Millions of voters were said to have turned out on Sunday to elect the nation’s fifth president, amid a tumultuous three-year stretch marred by exceptional political turmoil, which saw the emergence of violent anti-government protests, fueling support for the opposition.
According to policy analysts, President Macky Sall has struggled to address economic hardships in one of West Africa’s comparatively stable democracies, which remain susceptible to coups.
State television, RTS said that about 7.3 million Senegalese, representing 71% of the country’s registered voters of 18 million, came out to exercise their franchise.
While the country awaits the final results scheduled to be released on Tuesday, there is a possibility of a runoff election if no candidate manages to secure the necessary majority of over 50%.
