By Biran Gaye
[Dakar, 24th March, 2024]
Voters in Senegal are casting ballots to elect their next president from a congested race of nineteen (19) candidates.
The delayed election takes place following a period of uncertainty after President Macky Sall’s fruitless effort to adjourn the election.
Many believe former Prime Minister Amadou Ba, candidate for the ruling Benno Bokk Yaakaar coalition and Bassirou Diomaye Faye, stand-in candidate of disqualified opposition figure Ousmane Sonko, are the leading contenders.
A candidate will have to win more than 50 percent of the vote to secure a win in the first round.
Outside polling centres, police officers check voters’ cards as the electorate come in to cast their votes, with long queues observed at major polling centres, particularly at Parcelles Assainies. Foroyaa visited some polling centres within Parcelles and Grand Yoff, where relative calm was observed during the voting.
“I am glad that the much anticipated voting is going on peacefully,” Fatou Niang Wadda, a voter, told Foroyaa at the HLM Grand-Medine centre in Parcelles Assainies.
“Everyone needs to vote because your vote is your voice. It is through our vote that we can show what leadership.”
Ba Fode Dem, another voter, expressed similar sentiments, saying Senegalese people should fulfill their civic duties by voting in the presidential election.
“The voting process is well organized, and people leave the premises immediately after casting their votes. It is taking place with tranquility and that the turnout is encouraging,” he said.
For Sheikh Sey, a voter at Bureau 6 of Grand-Medine in Parcelles Assainies, this election is pivotal in the lives and livelihoods of the electorate, particularly the youth, who would bear the brunt of the outcome of the presidential vote.
“We need a change of trajectory because most of our youth sacrifice themselves through the ‘back way’ while others continue to risk their only livelihoods to fund their journey to Nicaragua,” he added.
“This election is an opportunity that could help end our miseries as a people.”
There has been relative tranquility and normalcy as the electorate vote at the said voting centre, says Maimuna Senghore, a polling officer. She added they have not encountered any problem in the process, which shows the sense of maturity displayed by the electorate, calling on others to proceed to their centres to vote.
Polls close in the evening at 18:00 GMT.
