DAKAR, Senegal — Senegalese are heading to the polls Sunday to vote in a tightly contested presidential race marred by months of unrest that threatened democracy in considered one of West Africa’s most steady nations.
The election will happen after a lot uncertainty following President Macky Sall’s unsuccessful effort to delay the Feb. 25 vote till the top of the yr — after which asserting a shock amnesty for political prisoners.
Two main opposition figures have been launched from jail final week to jubilant celebrations.
Sunday’s election is ready to be Senegal’s fourth democratic switch of energy because it gained independence from France in 1960. It’s also the primary vote with out an incumbent on the poll since time period limits have been launched and there’s no clear frontrunner among the many 19 candidates, together with one girl.
“That is poised to be essentially the most aggressive election because the introduction of multiparty politics,” Tochi Eni-Kalu, Africa analyst on the Eurasia Group, advised The Related Press.
Analysts say no candidate is anticipated to win greater than 50% of the vote, which suggests a runoff between main candidates is broadly anticipated. These embody Amadou Ba, a former prime minister, and Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who’s backed by in style opposition determine Ousmane Sonko.
Sonko, who got here third within the earlier election, was barred from working in January due to a previous conviction for defamation. He has confronted a slew of authorized troubles in recent times that supporters say are a part of a authorities effort to derail his candidacy.
Different potential frontrunners are Khalifa Sall, a former mayor of Dakar unrelated to the president, and Idrissa Seck, a former prime minister from the early 2000s who was the runner up within the 2019 presidential race.
Two candidates dropped out this week to again Faye’s candidacy, an indication of the beginning of coalition-building that would decide the result of the race, based on analysts.
On the forefront of considerations for a lot of Senegalese voters is the financial system, which has been squeezed by excessive meals and power costs partly pushed by the conflict in Ukraine. Unemployment among the many nation’s youth is widespread, driving 1000’s to danger their lives on harmful journeys looking for jobs within the West.
“Jobs are actually, actually the precedence. Everybody can see that unemployment is taking up,” mentioned Oumy Sarr, a political activist. “The second precedence is the excessive value of dwelling in Senegal right now. What’s to be finished to enhance folks’s dwelling circumstances? Inflation is rising, everyone seems to be drained.”
___
Related Press reporter Babacar Dione in Dakar contributed.
___
Comply with the AP’s protection of worldwide elections at: https://apnews.com/hub/global-elections/
