Supporters of certain candidates were already claiming victory late last night, after the vote for the presidential election in Senegal on Tuesday, March 24. "But nothing is yet decided," warn sources close to the National Electoral Commission (CENA).
In the camp of the opposition candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye, one of the 17 candidates vying for the highest office in Senegal, celebrations of victory began shortly after the closing of the polls at 6 PM. His supporters give him a significant lead over his immediate competitor, Amadou Ba. However, supporters of the ruling majority's candidate believe a second round is inevitable, given the divided votes of the 7.3 million voters called to the polls on March 24.
The suspense is likely to last until the end of the legal deadline for the proclamation of the official results, set for Friday for the announcement of the provisional results. These results will only become final after being validated by the Constitutional Council.
Macky Sall spoke yesterday at midday to caution against premature victory declarations by competing candidates, right after voting in Fatick (central-west), with his wife.
Almost simultaneously, the president of the CENA, Abdoulaye Sylla, in front of journalists at the voting center of the Japanese school in Nord-Foire, stated that the participation rate was 40%. At that time, he had just completed a tour of the voting centers in the departments of Dakar (Guédiawaye, Pikine, and Keur Massar).
Clearly, voter turnout was not only massive in Senegal but also among the country's diaspora, particularly in France.