••• President Macky Sall Warns Opposition against Early Declaration of Results •••
Voting started in the early hours of Sunday in Senegal as the contest for who replaces outgoing president Macky Sall takes centre stage following several weeks of postponement.
The election was to be held on Feb. 25 before Macky Sall proposed to extend it towards the end of the year but following massive protests, the parliamentary ensured the president rescheduled the election which is now holding today, the 14th day of Ramadan.
Sall, unable to contest, will back Amadou Ba, the ruling party’s candidate while the opposition party will be represented by Basirou Diomaye Faye (recently released from jail), supported by Ousmane Sonko – Oppositions leader who seems to have support of the youth population.
Faye, himself, has a huge fan base in the capital Dakar. The other candidates are, Anta Babacar Ngom, a female – who heads sedima, the country biggest food companies, former prime minister, Khalifa Sall, a former mayor of Dakar, Idrissa Seck – former prime minister from the early 2000s who was the runner up in the 2019 presidential race.
Today’s election appears to be the toughest in the west africa nations history as the outcome will have a significant effect on whether the country’s reputation as West africa most stable democracy remain intact.
Scenes from Senegal, showed that voting process started at polling stations as voters had their fingers stained with red ink to ensure no one votes more than once. Regions and basement were deserted with security agencies roaming round to ensure no casualties are recorded.
Today’s process will mark the nation’s fourth democratic election after gaining independence in 1960 from France and it has upheld a decent history despite recent crisis and coup in africa nations.
However, whoever wins the presidential contest, faces an uphill task in addressing unemployment issues and the nations economy largely affected by inflation in foods prices and energy conservation due to the crisis in Ukraine.
In another development, outgoing president, Macky Sall has warned oppositions against early declaration of results.
