Senegalese citizens gathered on Sunday morning to cast ballots in a fiercely contested presidential contest that came after months of turmoil and uncertainty that put the country’s standing as a stable democracy in a region that has seen a spate of coups in recent years to the test.
Following violent protests, President Macky Sall attempted in vain to call off the election scheduled for February 25 until the end of the year.
The constitution prohibits Sall from running for office a third time. Because of this, the election is being held during Ramadan, the holy month during which devout Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset.
Early in the morning, lines developed outside polling places, and Dakar’s main thoroughfare was mostly empty.
The country’s top police force was dispersed throughout the coty in armoured vehicles and checked voter’s card.
Opposition leader Ousmane Sonko was released from prison last week,sparking joyous celebrations in Dakar’s streets and a resurgence of interest in the election ahead of Sunday,s vote.
Due to a previous defamation conviction,Sonko was disqualified from running for the presidential seat.
He is supporting his important ally,Bassirou Diomaye Faye,who was also released from prison last week.
Khodia Ndiayes a 52 year-old cook said that she voted for Faye because she wanted Sonko to win.
“I’m proud to have voted,” she told The Associated Press. “We need a new president because life is expensive, the economy is bad and we need better schools.”
Many Senegalese voters are most concerned about the state of the economy,which has been negatively impacted by high food and energy cost that are partially related to the conflict in Ukraine
According to independent researcher Afrobarometer,about a third of Senegalese youths are unemployed,forcing thousands of people to risk their lives to travel to the west in search of jobs.
