Senegal: Both sides claim victory in presidential polls

By Alpha Kamara

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone (AA) - Senegal’s President Macky Sall has won Sunday’s presidential election with 57 percent of the votes, his prime minister claimed.

Though the election commission has not announced the official results yet, Mahammed Abdallah Dionne said his figures are based on his party’s tallies from voting centers across the country.

He made the announcement at a press briefing at the ruling party headquarters in capital Dakar last night.

“I have been reliably informed that President Macky Sall won the elections hands down and there will be no second round. I want our supporters to stay peaceful and calm until the election commission declares the winner,” Dionne told RFM, the national media.

Meanwhile, Sall’s main challenger, former Prime Minister Idrissa Seck also informed his supporters a few minutes later that a presidential runoff is inevitable.

He was speaking at a press briefing he jointly organized late last night in Dakar with Ousmane Sonko, another opposition candidate.

Seck, who is vying for presidency for the third time, was surrounded by supporters chanting ‘second round a must.’ He accused unnamed foreign media outlets of announcing fake results to favor Sall.

Ousmane Sonko, another opposition candidate, also criticized some media outlets for "engaging in an activity that threatens Senegal’s peace and security."

He called for the respect of Senegal’s electoral law which says only the electoral commission can declare results.

Radio France International (RFI) has issued a statement denying accusations that it reported victory for Sall.

A candidate must secure more than 50 percent of the votes to be declared the winner in the first round. A runoff between the two leading candidates will be held on March 24 if there is no outright winner in the first round.

Meanwhile, vote counting is still underway, with results trickling in from polling centers.