This Sunday, March 24, Senegalese are voting to elect their fifth president. There are 17 candidates in the running, including just one woman. The provisional results are expected to be released late into the night.
Some 7.3 million voters are called to choose from about 16,000 polling stations across the country and abroad, between the government candidate, Amadou Ba, and 16 other competitors, among them a woman and the anti-establishment Bassirou Diomaye Faye.
Amadou Ba, 62 years old, the Prime Minister just a few weeks ago of the outgoing President Macky Sall who designated him as his successor, and Bassirou Diomaye Faye, 43 years old, the "candidate for systemic change" and a "left-wing pan-Africanism", are the favorites. The former would keep the country on its current trajectory. The victory of the latter could signify a real systemic challenge.
Both claim they can win outright on Sunday without a need for a second round, the date of which is not set. The former mayor of Dakar, Khalifa Sall, 68 years old, is mentioned as a dark horse.
Polling stations are open until 6:00 PM (local and GMT). First unofficial provisional results might be published overnight. Partial official results are expected within the week.
The outgoing Senegalese President has warned against premature declarations of victory by presidential candidates, after casting his vote in Fatick (central-west) with his wife.
"It is not up to any candidate or camp to proclaim a victory or results. Tonight the polling stations will speak, and this will reflect the choice of the Senegalese people. Let's hope that this choice will be the best for Senegal," said Macky Sall, who is not running for re-election and assures that the voting is going "very well" in Senegal and abroad.
Meanwhile, the head of the Electoral Observation Mission of ECOWAS, Ibrahim Bangari, praised the start of the electoral operations at 8 AM at the Berthe Maubert center in the commune of Dakar Plateau, where 2,612 voters are expected across five polling stations.
"I am pleased to see that everything is going well for the moment. We witnessed when they sealed the ballot boxes. The lists are here. And we have ensured that the polling station heads and the candidates' representatives are present. So, everything is proceeding by the book," he stated.
Ibrahim Bangari also commended the significant presence of defense and security forces, which he believes demonstrates the authorities' stated intention to organize "free, inclusive, and transparent" elections.
