The post Senegal ruling party claims ‘large victory’ in elections appeared first on KahawaTungu.

The post At least nine migrants perish off Senegal’s coast appeared first on KahawaTungu.

The post West African nations call for firms to be able to offset carbon appeared first on KahawaTungu.

The court said on Wednesday the provisional results were based on vote tallies from 100 percent of polling stations. The results are expected to be confirmed by the Constitutional Council in the coming days.

Faye’s victory came just 10 days after he was freed from prison. The 44-year-old victor has said he wants a “break” with the current political system, and is set to become the youngest president in Senegal’s history.

The court said ruling coalition candidate Amadou Ba took more than 35 percent of the vote, and third-placed candidate Aliou Mamadou Dia won 2.8 percent.

Also Read: What’s next for Senegal under likely President Bassirou Diomaye Faye?

Senegal’s outgoing President Macky Sall earlier congratulated Faye, saying his win is “a victory for Senegalese democracy”.

Analysts said his win reflected a protest against the outgoing leadership and divisions within a powerful, but weakened, governing coalition.

Faye’s message has been particularly popular among young voters in a country where more than 60 percent of people are under 25 and struggle to find jobs.

Millions in Senegal took part in the vote to elect the country’s fifth president.

The polls followed three years of political turbulence that led to violent antigovernment protests, which garnered greater support for the opposition.

Dozens have been killed and hundreds arrested since 2021, with Faye himself detained and only released in the middle of the election campaign.

A peaceful transition of power in Senegal would mark a turn for democracy in West Africa, where there have been eight military coups since 2020.

The post Senegal opposition candidate Faye won 54 percent in presidential vote appeared first on KahawaTungu.

The celebrations came as at least five of the 19 candidates in the race issued statements congratulating Faye on what they called his victory.

But his main rival from the ruling coalition, former Prime Minister Amadou Ba, said the celebrations were premature.

“For our part, and considering the feedback of the results from our team of experts, we are certain that, in the worst case scenario, we will go to a run-off,” Ba’s campaign said in a statement.

There was no immediate comment from Faye.

Millions in Senegal took place in Sunday’s vote to elect the country’s fifth president. It followed three years of unprecedented political turbulence that sparked violent antigovernment protests and buoyed support for the opposition.

At stake is the potential end of an administration led by outgoing President Macky Sall, who is stepping down after a second term marred by unrest over the prosecution of opposition leader Ousmane Sonko and concerns that the president wanted to extend his mandate past the constitutional limit.

Also Read: Senegal’s top opposition leaders released from prison as elections loom

The incumbent was not on the ballot for the first time in Senegal’s history. His ruling coalition picked 62-year-old Ba as its candidate.

Sonko, in jail until recently, was disqualified from the race because of a defamation conviction. He is backing Faye, the co-creator of his now-dissolved PASTEF party, who was also detained almost a year ago on charges including defamation and contempt of court.

An amnesty law passed this month allowed their release days before the vote.

He and his colleague Diomaye have campaigned together under the banner “Diomaye is Sonko”.

About 7.3 million people were registered to vote in the country of approximately 18 million. Turnout was at about 71 percent, according to state television RTS.

Election day ran smoothly with no major incidents reported.

The first set of tallies announced on television showed Faye had won the majority of votes.

Jubilant crowds gathered in Sonko’s neighbourhood in Dakar, with supporters setting off fireworks, waving Senegalese flags and blowing vuvuzelas.

“This is really an unusual election,” said Al Jazeera’s Nicolas Haque, reporting from outside Sonko’s home. “People are celebrating outside the home of a politician who is not even in the running – Ousmane Sonko. For the people here, the fact that this election even took place is a reason to celebrate. There has been so much pent-up emotion being released. On these streets just weeks ago, there were riots, demonstrators protesting for this election to take place.”

He added: “No one has claimed victory. The counting is still under way, but there are some notable candidates who have all congratulated Faye.”

They included one of the main contenders, Anta Babacar Ngom, who wished Faye success as leader of Senegal in a statement.

“Congratulations to Bassirou Diomaye Faye on his unquestionable victory,” she said on X.

It was not clear how many of the 15,633 polling stations have been counted so far.

Final provisional results are expected by Tuesday. A second round of voting will only take place if no candidate secures the more than 50 percent majority required to prevent a run-off.

By Agencies.

The post Senegal’s Bassirou Diomaye Faye takes early lead in presidential election appeared first on KahawaTungu.

Seventeen candidates are on the ballot, each hoping to replace President Macky Sall who is barred from running again after reaching the two-term limit.

The election had been due to take place last month but Mr Sall postponed it, triggering deadly opposition protests and a democratic crisis.

Senegal had until then been praised as a bastion of democracy in West Africa.

Seven million people are eligible to vote in Sunday’s election.

Among those in the running for Senegal’s top job is the governing BBY coalition’s candidate, former Prime Minister Amadou Ba, 62.

His strongest challenger is seen as Bassirou Diomaye Faye, 44, who was released from jail just last week, after being detained since April 2023 on charges of insurrection, which he said were politically motivated.

Popular firebrand Ousmane Sonko, who was also imprisoned until last week on what he said were trumped-up charges, is not allowed to stand. He and his now-disbanded Pastef party are backing his close ally, Mr Faye.

On Friday, former President Abdoulaye Wade and his PDS party threw their support behind Mr Faye, after his own son Karim Wade was forced to withdraw over his dual French-Senegalese citizenship.

For the first time in over a decade, a female candidate is in the race. Anta Babacar Ngom, 40, leads the ARC party.

Results are expected within days and a second round is likely, because of the large number of contestants. A candidate needs more than 50% of the vote to be declared the winner.

The eyes of the world will be watching to see if the election process goes some way to restoring Senegal’s now-bruised reputation.

Speaking to the BBC earlier this week, President Sall said that he had “no apology to make” for postponing the election, which was originally due to be held on 25 February.

“I have done nothing wrong,” he said, adding that the decision to delay the vote was not taken unilaterally, but was due to electoral concerns raised by members of parliament.

“All the actions that have been taken have been within the framework of the law and regulations.”

By BBC News

The post Senegal Votes in Delayed Polls After Weeks of Turmoil appeared first on KahawaTungu.

State broadcaster RTS reported Sonko was freed along with key ally Bassirou Diomaye Faye late on Thursday.

Their release comes after a crisis triggered by President Macky Sall’s decision to postpone the February 25 presidential vote and was expected following last week’s passage of an amnesty law for acts committed in connection with political demonstrations since 2021.

The election, which authorities wanted to postpone for 10 months, is now due to take place on March 24.

“They came out in front of us,” said lawyer Cheikh Koureyssi Ba.

Sonko was at the heart of a bitter two-year standoff with the state and has been in prison since July.

The legal case against him, along with rising economic and social tensions, led to deadly unrest between 2021 and 2023.

Sonko came third in the 2019 presidential election but was barred from running as a candidate in this year’s poll.

News of his release brought thousands of supporters onto the streets of Dakar, chanting Sonko’s name on the street outside his house. Some lit flares, danced or blasted their motorbike and car horns.

Also Read: Senegal sets delayed presidential elections for March 24

“We’ve been waiting for this day for so long. Prayed for it,” said 52-year-old health worker Fatima, who gave only her first name. She had rushed to join the crowd when she heard Sonko and Faye were free.

“I believe Sonko can change the country,” she said.

The opposition leader is popular among young people and his fiery campaign to tackle corruption has resonated in a country where the cost of living is rising and many people are struggling.

“It’s a joy. It’s incredible. They released Ousmane Sonko!”, said 31-year-old Mamadou Mballo Mane.

After he was disqualified from contesting the election, Sonko endorsed Faye to replace him on the ballot.

Faye, who was jailed in April 2023, has been unable to address voters in person since campaigning kicked off on March 9.

Incumbent Macky Sall is not standing for re-election this year. His last-minute decision to defer the February presidential vote led to unrest in which four people were killed.

Bouts of unrest since 2021 have left dozens dead and led to hundreds of arrests in a country often viewed as a pillar of stability in West Africa, where there have been dozens of coups and attempted coups in recent decades.

Sonko has always maintained there was a plot to keep him out of the 2024 election, while his camp and the government have traded blame for the violence.

He had been jailed since the end of July on a string of charges, including provoking insurrection, conspiracy with terrorist groups and endangering state security.

His political party was also dissolved.

By Agencies.

The post Senegal’s top opposition leaders released from prison as elections loom appeared first on KahawaTungu.

The announcement on Wednesday after a cabinet meeting followed a February ruling in which the country’s top court declared that outgoing President Macky Sall’s plans to hold the vote after his term expires on April 2 were unconstitutional.

Sall also dissolved the government on Wednesday, replacing Prime Minister Amadou Ba with Interior Minister Sidiki Kaba. The presidency said that change would help Ba, who is the ruling coalition’s presidential candidate, focus on his electoral campaign.

It is the latest twist in a charged Senegal where Sall’s decision to delay elections originally set for February 25, citing errors in the electoral process, led to violent unrest, and warnings from the country’s international allies that its reputation as one of coup-hit West Africa’s more stable democracies is under threat.

The crisis had prompted an emergency meeting of the regional Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) bloc in an attempt to calm widespread violence.

The Constitutional Council had in February ruled that a proposal from a national dialogue commission for the vote to be held on June 2 was not in line with the constitution.

“The Council’s decision to stand up to the president … is seen as a tribute to Senegalese democracy, and the new election date comes as a relief to many Senegalese who will finally have a say in their country’s future,” Al Jazeera reported from the capital, Dakar.

The post Senegal sets delayed presidential elections for March 24 appeared first on KahawaTungu.

President Macky Sall has served two terms in office.

On Thursday, the Constitutional Council annulled President Sall’s decree moving the vote to December.

It also voided the contentious bill passed by parliament which had backed the president’s decree.

The move will go some way to restoring Senegal’s reputation as a bastion of democracy in West Africa.

Ever since he announced he wanted to delay the elections two weeks ago – just hours before campaigns were meant to kick off, President Sall has been under immense pressure to reverse his decision.

Now that pressure appears to have yielded results, with a statement from the presidency saying Mr Sall will comply with the court ruling – and will also hold talks with all relevant stakeholders without delay, in order to hold elections as soon as possible.

The original date was 25 February – so there is not enough time to hold it then.

A new date for the elections has not yet been given, but in its ruling the Constitutional Council said the president could not stay in power beyond the end of his term on 2 April.

The West African body, Ecowas, France and the European Union all urged Mr Sall to comply with the decision.

Senegal’s judiciary has been praised exerting its independence, with a leading opposition figure hailing Thursday’s court ruling as “a great day for democracy”.

“We’ve been so ashamed by all this violation of the law and the constitution,” former Prime Minister Aminata Touré told the BBC’s Newsday programme.

Anta Babacar, the only female candidate, agreed.

“We are actually very, very proud of our Constitutional Council and it shows that there is at least a little bit of democracy and justice that’s left in our country,” she said.

There had been strong opposition to Mr Sall’s decision to postpone the elections until mid-December.

Protesters have taken to the streets and opposition politicians have lodged legal complaints against him.

Religious authorities and regional bodies had also called for elections to be held as soon as possible.

However, the disputes that led to the polls being postponed in the first place remain unresolved, including allegations of corruption in the Constitutional Council and objections from opposition figures who had been excluded from the candidate list published last month.

Holding the election using the disputed candidate list could spark renewed unrest and violence by supporters of those barred from contesting, in particular Ousmane Sonko, who has a large and vocal following among young Senegalese. He is currently in jail after being convicted of various offences after prosecutions, which he says are politically motivated.

Most candidates have not been campaigning since President Sall issued his decree earlier this month.

Senegal is considered one of West Africa’s more stable democracies and is the only country in the region never to have suffered a military coup.

By BBC News

The post Senegal President Macky Sall Vows Poll ‘As Soon As Possible’  appeared first on KahawaTungu.

The Constitutional Court annulled President Macky Sall’s decree and a contentious bill passed by parliament moving the vote to December.

Widespread protests have gripped the West African country, once considered a bastion of democracy in the region.

Opposition figures said it amounted to an “institutional coup”.

Mr Sall had announced he was pushing the election back because of what he claimed were concerns over the eligibility of opposition candidates.

His proposal had been backed by 105 out of the 165 MPs. A six-month postponement was originally proposed, but a last-minute amendment extended it to 10 months, or 15 December.

Mr Sall had reiterated that he was not planning to run for office again. But his critics accused him of either trying to cling on to power or unfairly influencing whoever succeeds him.

Opposition candidates and lawmakers, who had filed a number of legal challenges to the bill, will likely feel vindicated by the court’s decision on Thursday evening.

Khalifa Sall, a leading opponent and a former mayor of the capital Dakar, who is not related to the president, had called the delay a “constitutional coup” while Thierno Alassane Sall, another candidate, also no relation, called it “high treason”.

The court said it was “impossible” for the election to be held on the originally intended date of 25 February – just 10 days time – but urged authorities to organise it “as soon as possible”.

Most candidates have not been campaigning since President Sall issued his 3 February decree, hours before campaigns were meant to kick off.

The court decision comes on the same day as several opposition politicians and civil society members were released from prison, in what some in the country viewed as a move to appease public opinion.

Senegal had long been seen as one of the most stable democracies in the region. It is the only country in mainland West Africa that has never had a military coup. It has had three largely peaceful handovers of power and until earlier this month had never delayed a presidential election.

President Sall has been in power since 2012, with his second term in office due to end this April.

By Agencies

The post Senegal Election Delay Ruled Unlawful appeared first on KahawaTungu.