Senegal: Early poll results have shown that Bassirou Diomaye Faye, the presidential candidate of Senegal, is leading the race. Faye arose as the favourite candidate to win the election after several competitors conceded.
At least five of the 17 contenders in the leadership race issued statements complimenting Faye on what they called his victory. Anta Babacar Ngom, who was the only female candidate, extended her wishes for Faye’s success. Millions of people partook in a peaceful vote after three years of turbulence and opponent objections against the incumbent, Macky Sall.
The ruling syndicate’s nominee, Amadou Ba, rejected reports of downfall and stated that he anticipated contending in a run-off vote to determine the winner. Ousmane Sonko’s Pastef party senior official, Faye, who was jailed just days before the election, won the majority of votes according to the first set of results.
Sonko was disqualified from the election due to a defamation conviction. The announcement of the results led to widespread street celebrations in the capital, Dakar, with supporters setting off fireworks, waving Senegalese flags, and blowing vuvuzelas.
It is currently unclear how many of the 15,633 polling stations were counted in the recent election. The conclusive provisional outcomes are anticipated to be announced this week. Sonko also supported Faye, the co-founder of his now-dissolved party, who was detained almost a year ago on charges of defamation and contempt of court.
An amnesty law passed earlier this month allowed their release just before the election. They campaigned jointly under the banner of ‘Diomaye is Sonko.’ Faye made a plea to the candidates to gracefully accept the outcome of the election after casting the vote. The leading candidate said that, “The population is choosing between continuation and rupture.”
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