Directorate of Elections has assured voters of a transparent and rig-free presidential election on Sunday. About seven million Senegalese are registered to vote in the country’s landmark election.
Pape Birame Sène, Head of Communication at the General Directorate of Elections, told Foroyaa in an interview that they have finalized all the electoral logistics to hold a credible vote, with the electoral map already updated.
“All the work of packaging and transporting electoral materials have been done and handed over to the local authorities for safe-keeping until the d-day,” Sène said.
He added: “We are set to conduct a free and fair election in Senegal and in the diaspora. The security will be deployed to various polling stations to help people to vote in peace.”
Asked about the recently withdrawn candidates, including Alasan Dieye and Habib Sy, he said their ballot boxes would be displayed at polling centres as the constitutional council has not made any decision about the candidates’ withdrawal.
The election body indicated that it has organized a number of awareness-raising and training activities, particularly for electoral agents responsible for implementing these programmes, but also for all citizens within the framework of civic education. It controls the conditions for printing ballot papers as well as support for security services with regard to the security system applicable during voting operations.
Its processes and approaches at every stage, it added, cater for vulnerable target groups, people with disabilities, women and youth.
The two leading candidates, out of 19 contenders in the first round of voting, are former Prime Minister Amadou Ba, 62; and radical nationalist, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, 44.Outgoing President Macky Sall’s chosen successor Amadou Ba stands for continuity of the current government’s policy. But his radical challenger, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, campaigns on anti-corruption ticket, a comprehensive review of oil, gas and mining contracts and a restructuring or the end of the CFA zone.
Beyond Senegal’s borders, this election could set the tempo for a region facing monumental economic and geopolitical challenges.
