Macky Sall confident of re-election as Senegal votes in presidential election

AFP | Senegal was voting in a presidential poll on Sunday with Macky Sally confident of being reelected after his main challengers were banned from running.

Sunday’s vote pits Sall against 4 lesser-known candidates who have campaigned hard against his plans for a 2nd term.

But with his two key rivals sidelined over graft convictions – popular former Dakar mayor Khalifa Sall and Karim Wade, son of the previous president – Sall looked set to cruise to victory in the first-round vote.

Voting opened at 8:00 am GMT (3:00 am EST) and was to close 10 hours later, with large queues forming outside a polling station in Fatick, Sall’s hometown, where the 56-year-old cast his vote.

Other large queues were visible in Thies, Senegal’s 3rd city.

“At the end of this day, the Senegalese people alone will be the winner. And the president chosen will equally have to be president of all Senegalese,” Sall said after voting.

A geologist by training, Sall took over as president in 2012 after beating his former mentor Abdoulaye Wade, and this time, he has campaigned for a 2nd term championing his “Emerging Senegal” infrastructure project to boost economic growth.

“Victory in the first round is indisputable,” Sall told a recent Dakar campaign rally.

A smaller lineup

Often held up as a model of stability in Africa, Senegal has enjoyed strong growth. The Muslim-majority country has largely escaped the jihadist attacks that destabilized neighbors such as Mali.

Sall has made transport infrastructure a priority. But basic services, healthcare and education often remain inadequate, sometimes triggering strikes and protests.

The other 4 candidates have campaigned hard against his plans for a 2nd phase of his project, which critics see as a potential debt burden.

Among those contesting the race are Idrissa Seck, a one-time prime minister, former foreign minister Madicke Niang, Issa Sall of the Unity and Assembly Party (PUR) and taxman-turned-MP Ousman Sonko.

The 5-horse race leaves voters with a limited choice compared to 2012 when 14 candidates vied for the top post.

Preliminary results are due out after polling closes at 6:00 pm GMT (1:00 pm EST), with official results due out a day or two later.

Senegal has a population of 16 million but only 6.7 million were registered to vote in this West African nation.

In order to avoid a 2nd-round runoff, a candidate must get more than 50 percent of the vote. Failing that, a 2nd round is provisionally scheduled for March 24.

A new system approved by parliament last year, required candidates demonstrate support from a minimum number of citizens and regions.

Once the regulations went into force, only 7 candidates made the cut, but 2 of them – Khalifa Sall and Karim Wade – were then disqualified.