Senegal President, Macky Sall, won re-election with 58
percent of votes cast in last Sunday’s poll, the electoral commission said
Thursday.
The majority win hands Mr Sall a second term without a
run-off vote.
The opposition candidate, Idrissa Seck, came second with 21
percent of votes, while Ousmane Sonko placed third with 16 per cent.
Mr Sall, whom rights groups have criticised for squeezing
out rivals was tipped to win after a modernising first term that propelled
Senegal’s economic growth to more than six per cent – one of the highest in
Africa.
Since Sunday’s vote, opposition candidates have rejected
reports of an out-right victory for Mr Sall, saying their tallies point to a
second round of voting.
Messrs Seck and Sonko have not yet commented on the National
Vote Counting Commission’s results, which are preliminary until validated by
the constitutional council.
The candidates have 72 hours to register an appeal.
Senegal has long been viewed as West Africa’s most stable
democracy, with peaceful transitions of power since it gained independence from
France in 1960.
More than 66 per cent of 6.7 million registered voters took
part in the election.
Mr Sall, in power since 2012, became the election’s
frontrunner after two prominent opposition figures were excluded.
Karim Wade, a former minister, and Khalifa Sall, the former
mayor of Dakar, were barred from the election over convictions for misuse of
public funds.
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