Senegal Ruling Party Concedes Victory in Presidential Poll, Ahead Of Official Results

Senegal ruling coalition candidate Amadou Ba has called the opposition’s Bassirou Diomaye Faye to concede victory in Sunday’s presidential election, a government official said.

Unofficial results showed that Mr. Faye had a strong lead over Mr. Ba.

Mr. Faye had been in prison 10 days before the vote and campaigned on the promise of radical change.

Official results from an election which was originally due last month are expected in the coming days.

President Sall has also congratulated Mr. Faye and said that it was a win for the people of Senegal.

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In the streets, young people were dancing, singing, waving the Senegalese flag and honking their cars horns.

Voters have also praised the peaceful conduct of the election amid preveious concerns of a likely unrest.

The months leading up to the election saw deadly protests ignited last year by the jailing of the popular opposition leader Ousmane Sonko.

I’m satisfied because we can see that democracy is advancing in our country. We really hope that the new president, who is elected by the majority, will manage the country well said Mohamed Mbaye, a Dakar resident.

This is Senegal’s fourth democratic transfer of power since gaining independence more than six decades ago.