Following what has been described as a peaceful election in the West African country of Senegal, it appears that the incumbent President Macky Sall has won the first round of elections which took place on Sunday, February 24.
The country’s Prime Minister, Mahammed Dionne, made the announcement at a news conference in the country’s capital city of Dakar, citing a provincial tally, which showed that Sall had received at least 57 percent of the total votes that were cast during the polls on Sunday.
“We must congratulate President Macky Sall for his first-round election victory. Our gathered results show that our candidate has largely won the election in the 13 out of 14 regions in the country. We can expect a minimum of 57 percent. From tomorrow, our candidate restarts his work putting this country on the path toward development,” the Prime Minister said.
While the country’s electoral commission is yet to make an official announcement, as verified results are expected to be presented on or before Friday March 1, a candidate is expected to win more than 50 percent of the total votes, to avoid a runoff. However, if no candidate wins the required votes, the two top candidates will participate in a runoff, similar to last year’s Madagascar elections.
Over 6.5 million Senegalese citizens out of the country’s 15 million residents participated in the elections, exercising their civic duties and selecting their leader.
President Sall who is seeking a second and final term, ran against contenders including Idrissa Seck under the Rewimi Party, Ousmane Sonko under PASTEF, Issa Sall under PUR and Madicke Niang under the PDS.
However, several groups have come forward to chastise the Prime Minister for his announcement.
According to contender Idrissa Seck, “There’s no question a second round is unavoidable even if some media try to announce a victory in the first round.”
He also called for the Senegalese people to be respected for their choices, which he termed, “a choice for change.”
Adding its voice to the mix, a youth movement famous for pushing Sall into office in 2012, has called out the Prime Minister for making the announcement.
“It seems as if the government doesn’t want peace in the country. They are ready to confiscate power. Senegalese will not accept this; to give results while the commission is counting votes,” Fadel Barro, coordinator of Y’en Marre (Fed Up in the local Wolof language) movement, said.
“I ask people to stand up. We will not accept anyone to destroy the stability of our country,” he added.
So far, Senegal has had three peaceful transfers of power, with a president mandated to serve not more than two five year terms in office.
