The winner will be in charge of managing oil and gas reserves’ profits and guiding Senegal, which is seen as a model of democracy in coup-hit West Africa, out of its current predicament.
Late on Sunday, it seemed as though Senegal’s anti-establishment candidate, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, was getting closer to winning the first round of a presidential election.
Figure of opposition The 43-year-old Faye had promised voters radical change and a left-wing pan-Africanist presidential platform.
Provisional results from individual polling stations looked to put Faye well ahead of Amadou Ba, the former prime minister of the ruling coalition, according to reports in the local media and on social media.
Based on preliminary results from the ongoing vote count, five other candidates congratulated the opposition candidate on winning the first round.
“Congratulations to Bassirou Diomaye Faye on his unquestionable victory,” Anta Babacar Ngom, the sole female contender, wrote on X, the previous Twitter platform.
Faye was praised by Dethie Fall “on his fine victory, clearly achieved in view of the very strong trends that are emerging”.
El Hadji Mamadou Diao, Mamadou Lamine Diallo, and Papa Djibril Fall all made similar claims.
Out of a crowded field of seventeen contenders, Faye and Ba had emerged as the favorites to win.
To the sound of drums and klaxons, hundreds of people gathered late on Sunday night at Faye’s campaign headquarters in Dakar, the capital, chanting and dancing.
Young people yelling “to the (presidential) palace” as they rode through the streets on motorbikes.
At Ba’s headquarters, the mood among the handful of supporters was more solemn.
Without compiling the results, radio and television stations broadcast out the results from each of the 16,000 polling places in Senegal and overseas.
We don’t anticipate official findings until the end of the week.
Faye has promised to combat corruption, reestablish the nation’s “sovereignty,” and allocate resources more fairly.
In addition, he has pledged to renegotiate agreements with foreign firms on mining, gas, and oil.
In a county where half of the population is under 20, both candidates had positioned themselves as the greatest choice for young voters.
Early in the day, Diaraaf Gaye, a 26-year-old shopkeeper, declared, “I voted for Diomaye without thinking.”
“It’s time for the country to start on a new footing with young people” who are in charge.
“I made it there in the end.”
Voters peacefully waited in line outside polling places on Sunday; many had risen early to pray before the sun came up and then proceeded directly to their polls.
Voting supplies, such as ballot boxes, still bore the original February poll date on their labels.
“We made it there at last. May God be thanked “Said 51-year-old trader Mita Diop. “Recent times haven’t been easy for Senegal which has experienced several upheavals.”
Leading opposition figure Ousmane Sonko, who lost his right to vote after being found guilty of defamation, said that young voters had “massively” participated in the election.
As he cast his ballot in his southern stronghold of Ziguinchor, Sonko remarked, “We are convinced that at the end of this day the victory will be dazzling,” alluding to his deputy and endorsed candidate, Faye.
After casting their ballots earlier on Sunday, both Faye and Ba declared themselves to be “confident” of winning in the first round.
In the first round of voting, a candidate must receive an absolute majority of the vote.
SOURCE: TRTWORLD
