On Sunday Senegal will hold a presidential election to prolong its status as one of the most stable democracies in West Africa.
Preparations are ongoing for the crucial vote with the incumbent President Macky Sall set to battle four others for the presidency.
This year two key opposition figures were barred from contesting the election by Senegal’s Constitutional Court.
The court barred former Dakar mayor Khalifa Sall and ex-minister Karim Wade for graft related activities. They were convicted for misuse of public funds.
With the court’s decision, Sall is now widely expected to win a second term in Sunday’s vote.
Sall first came into power in 2012 defeating then incumbent president Abdoulaye Wade.
He had previously served as his prime minister between 2004 and 2007.
The other contenders
The other four candidates set to battle President Sall include Idrissa Seck, 59, who served as a prime minister in the 2000s.
He has failed on two separate occasions to win the presidency and doesn’t seem set to be successful this time round, according to analysts.
The youngest candidate for the election is 44-year-old, Ousmane Sonko who is considered a newcomer to the political scene.
The tax inspector won an election to become a lawmaker in 2017. He is representing his own party the Patriots of Senegal for Work, Ethics and Fraternity (PASTEF) in parliament.
Sunday’s election also has an academic joining the race. 63-year-old IT professor, Issa Sall is representing the Party of Unity and Assembly (PUR).
The other candidate also in this race is Madicke Niang who is 65 years of age. He is considered the candidate with the least chance of winning the vote.
He previously served as a minister in the government under former President Abdoulaye Wade.
Niang who was a member of the Senegalese Democratic Party was expelled for his decision to run for president.
Source: Africafeeds.com
