The former Prime Minister of Senegal and candidate of the ruling party, Amadou Ba, has conceded defeat in the presidential election held on Sunday and has congratulated the main opposition candidate, Bassirou Faye, who is expected to be declared the winner.
Although the official collation of results is still ongoing, results so far announced at polling units across the country show Mr Faye, 42, will win the election in the first round.
Mr Ba, 62, had initially said celebrations by Mr Faye’s supporters were premature but on Monday, he called and wrote to congratulate him.
“In light of presidential election result trends and while we await the official proclamation, I congratulate… Faye for his victory in the first round,” Mr Ba wrote in a statement, according to Al-Jazeera.
Mr Ba enjoyed the support of the outgoing president Macky Sall who had initially tried to postpone the election while he held on to power.
PREMIUM TIMES reported how weeks of street protests in Senegal and the insistence of the international community including ECOWAS forced Mr Sall to agree to the election being held on Sunday, weeks after it should have been held.
The final results of the election are expected to be announced on Friday.
Like Mr Ba, some of the other 15 presidential candidates have also congratulated Mr Faye including Anta Ngom, the only woman running in the race.
Successful elections in Senegal could serve as a beacon of hope in West Africa where there has been a coup resurgence with at least eight coups since 2020. Some West African countries such as Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea are currently led by putschists.
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