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Senegalese presidential candidate Amadou Ba has conceded defeat in Sunday’s election to opposition leader Bassirou Diomaye Faye. Several of the candidates who contested the election have conceded to him, although official results have not been announced.
Faye, 44, a senior official in the Pastef party led by Ousmane Sonko, had been in jail until 10 days before the vote. Now, he is on the verge of being announced as the nation’s next president after his major opponent from the ruling coalition phoned him on Monday to concede defeat, Reuters reported.
As the results gradually emerged following the closure of polls on Sunday evening for the delayed presidential election’s first round, there are strong indications that Faye, might have secured a decisive majority.
Initially, ruling coalition candidate Amadou Ba, aged 62, deemed the celebrations premature and asserted that a runoff vote would be necessary to ascertain the victor.
However, he later contacted Faye on Monday to extend his congratulations, as reported by a government spokesperson to journalists.
“In light of presidential election result trends and while we await the official proclamation, I congratulate… Faye for his victory in the first round,” Ba said in a statement.
The idea of having Bassirou Diomaye Faye as president has sent many youths to the streets in celebration.
The Dakar appeals court is expected to announce the official results on Friday, with the electoral commission yet to release information on the tallies from 15,633 voting stations.
There’s widespread anticipation that the outcome of the vote will usher in stability and potentially stimulate economic growth for Senegal. This optimism comes after three years of notable political upheaval in one of West Africa’s few stable democracies.
A peaceful transition of power in Senegal would signify a significant advancement for democracy in West Africa, especially in the context of recent political instability. Since 2020, the region has witnessed eight military coups, leading to upheaval and uncertainty.
Some of these coup leaders have distanced themselves from longstanding allies like France and the United States, opting to seek support from other actors, notably Russia, to combat the growing threat of jihadist insurgency spreading across neighbouring countries.
Election stats
The state television RTS disclosed that of the country’s 18 million people, this election recorded a total of 7.3 million registered voters.
It was also revealed that the election had no animalities, it ran as smoothly as it could.
19 candidates campaigned for the presidential seat, including former prime minister Amadou Ba, 62, the handpicked flagbearer for the ruling Benno Bokk Yaakaar coalition, Khalifa Sall, 64, a former minister and mayor of the capital Dakar, and Bassirou Diomaye Faye, a 43-year-old tax inspector, who is running in place of jailed opposition firebrand Ousmane Sonko.
