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Bassirou Diomaye Faye, an anti-establishment candidate leads Amadou Ba, the candidate for the ruling party who has refused to concede, in the presidential vote, an outcome that could steer the West African nation in a radical new direction.
However, his principal rival, Amadou Ba, who represents the ruling administration, dismissed such reports as premature and said he expected a runoff vote to decide the victor.
Triumph for Faye could bring in a systemic overhaul in Senegal, including a recalibration of its relationship with France, the formal colonial power.
Promising voters radical change, Faye wants Senegal to cease using CFA pegged to the euro with the financial backing of the French treasury. The 44-year-old has also promised to renegotiate huge mining contracts signed with foreign companies. Senegal is due to start hydrocarbon production later this year, a development that has brought hopes of future and much-needed wealth for the country.
By contrast, Ba represents the administration led by the widely criticised President Macky Sall who has failed to ease economic hardship in one of coup-prone West Africa’s more stable democracies. The UN World Food Programme says 40% of Senegalese live in poverty. Anger towards Sall mounted further when he abruptly cancelled the elections to replace him seven weeks ago – before being forced to backtrack.
As the first results began to trickle in, hundreds gathered at Faye’s campaign headquarters in the capital, Dakar, singing and dancing to the sound of drums and vuvuzelas. Young people on motorbikes drove around the city chanting. The scenes of jubilation were all the more remarkable because Faye, a senior official in the Pastef party led by the popular Ousmane Sonko, had only been released from jail days earlier. Sonko, who was disqualified from the vote because of what he claims are politically motivated charges, has a large following among Senegal’s vast youth population.
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More than half of the country’s population is under the age of 25, with many sharing concerns over unemployment and poverty. Official results from Sunday’s vote are expected at some stage this week. Early results from individual polling stations published late on Sunday by local media showed Faye ahead of Ba. An absolute majority is required for any of the candidates to avoid a runoff.
