Senegal PM says President Sall wins re-election in first round of vote

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Senegal's prime minister said President Macky Sall won the first round of an election on Sunday with at least 57 percent of the votes, even as the opposition said preliminary results showed a runoff was unavoidable.

"We must congratulate the president for his re-election in the first round," Prime Minister Mohammed Dionne told journalists, also citing preliminary figures.

Electoral officials count ballots at a polling station at the Dakar Plateau Adja Mame Yacine Diagne School in Dakar, February 24, 2019. /VCG Photo

Official results are due by Friday at the latest with a runoff for the top two on March 24 if no one secures a majority.

Senegal's small fish-exporting economy expanded more than 6 percent last year, one of the highest rates in Africa, driven by an ambitious reform and development plan that included the construction of a new railway. Sall enjoyed his popularity due to the strong economic growth in his first term. The 57-year-old president promised to deliver universal healthcare and better access to education.

Opinion polls are banned in the run-up to the vote, but a survey by a Senegalese data company in November gave Sall 45 percent support. Of his four rivals now lined up in the smallest field of candidates since 1988, none had more than 16 percent.

The West African nation has long been viewed as the region's most stable democracy, with peaceful transitions of power since independence in 1960.

(Cover: Incumbent President Macky Sall speaks after casting his vote for Senegal's presidential election at a polling station in Fatick, February 24, 2019. /VCG Photo)

Source(s): Reuters