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- Senegal elections have taken a curious turn with the ruling party and the coalition of opposition parties claiming victory before the formal announcement of the election results.
Senegal elections have taken a curious turn with the ruling party and the coalition of opposition parties claiming victory before the formal announcement of the election results.
The presidential camp and the opposition each stood firm in claiming to have won the parliamentary elections, while the vote counting was progressing. www.trendsnarica .com has reported about the developments in the country’s election from time to time. Khalifa Sall, one of the opposition leaders, during a press conference of his coalition, declared that the opposition coalition won the election and declared that it would not allow the ruling party to steal the victory through unfair means. To support their assertions, they listed a string of newly acquired constituencies by the opposition coalition.
These legislative elections, the last before the presidential election of 2024, are a test after the local elections of January. In those elections, the opposition won in major cities such as Dakar, Ziguinchor (south) and Thies (west). As reported by our portal www.trendsnafrica.com, Aminata Toure of the ruling party had assured to have won 30 departments, out of 46 that Senegal has and constituencies abroad, while acknowledging the defeat in Dakar, the capital. This, she claimed, undoubtedly, gave a  majority in the National Assembly. However, this assertion was scotched by the main opposition coalition, which also claimed victory.
“Yewwi Askan Wi” (Liberate the People in Wolof), the main opposition coalition, formed by Ousmane Sonko, who came third in the 2019 presidential election, has allied itself with the “Wallu Senegal” coalition (Save Senegal in Wolof), led by former President Abdoulaye Wade. The single-round elections are aimed at renewing the 165 seats of the unicameral parliament, largely controlled by the presidential camp, for five years. Macky Sall has promised to appoint a prime minister – a post he abolished and then reinstated in December 2021 – from the winning party.
Overall provisional results will be announced by the National Commission for the Census of Votes (CNRV) by  Friday latest. Local media and the main political movements have been reporting partial results since Sunday evening. Early media reports indicate a close election and victories for the Yewwi/Wallu inter-coalition in several urban centers.
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https://trendsnafrica.com/elections-in-senegal-ruling-party-claims-upper-hand-in-elections/
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The election is taking place against the  backdrop of rising prices as a result of the war in Ukraine, an argument used by the opposition against the government, which is highlighting its subsidies for petroleum products and foodstuffs as well as its infrastructure construction program. The opposition also wants to force Mr. Sall to give up any hope of running in 2024. President Sall, elected in 2012 for seven years and re-elected in 2019 for five years, is keeping his intentions vague with 19 months to go before the presidential election.
