DAKAR, March 24 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The first round of the Senegalese presidential election started on Sunday at 8 a.m. local time (0800 GMT).
According to statistics from the General Directorate of Elections, approximately 7.37 million voters, over 7 million domestically and the remainder abroad are expected to cast their ballots to elect the fifth president of Senegal.
Senegalese voters will vote in 16,440 polling stations from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. The General Directorate of Elections said 2,457 observers have been accredited for the election.
Nineteen candidates are competing to succeed the outgoing president, Macky Sall, who was elected in 2012 and re-elected in 2019.
Among those in the running for Senegal’s top job is the governing BBY coalition’s candidate, former Prime Minister Amadou Ba, 62.
His strongest challenger is seen as Bassirou Diomaye Faye, 44, who was released from jail just last week, after being detained since April 2023 on charges of insurrection, which he said were politically motivated.
Popular firebrand Ousmane Sonko, who was also imprisoned until last week on what he said were trumped-up charges, is not allowed to stand. He and his now-disbanded Pastef party are backing his close ally, Faye.
On Friday, former President Abdoulaye Wade and his PDS party threw their support behind Faye, after his own son Karim Wade was forced to withdraw over his dual French-Senegalese citizenship.
For the first time in over a decade, a female candidate is in the race. Anta Babacar Ngom, 40, leads the ARC party.
Results are expected within days and a second round is likely, because of the large number of contestants. A candidate needs more than 50% of the vote to be declared the winner. — NNN-AGENCIES
