Senegal Ruling Coalition Claims Early Victory in Legislative Elections

A former prime minister of Senegal said in a televised address Monday that President Macky Sall’s ruling coalition has won 30 of the country’s 46 administrative departments in Sunday’s legislative elections. 


Aminata Toure said that that would give the West African country’s ruling coalition a slight majority. 


Dakar Mayor Barthelemy Dias, an opposition leader, took exception to Toure’s announcement and called for people to take to the streets Monday to protest. 


The final nationwide results of the election are not expected to be known until at least Friday.  Senegal’s hybrid election system also includes winners of the proportional representation vote and those who earn the most votes from Senegalese who live abroad. 


Senegal is considered one of the continent’s most stable democracies, but there is concern because Sall has not ruled out running for a third term in 2024, a move that would go against the country’s constitution.


Some information in this report came from Reuters.