More than seven million people are eligible to vote in the midterm elections, with jobs and rising prices on their minds.
Voting has begun in Senegal’s parliamentary elections as President Bassirou Diomaye Faye aims to win a landslide majority to fulfill the ambitious reform promises that brought him to power eight months ago.
More than seven million of the country’s 17 million people are eligible to vote on Sunday to elect members of the 165-seat National Assembly for a five-year term. Polls open at 8am (08:00 GMT) and close at 6pm (18:00 GMT).
Faye won in March promising economic transformation, social justice and a fight against corruption – raising hopes among a largely young population facing high inflation and widespread unemployment. He dissolved the National Assembly in September.
Faye appointed his firebrand mentor Ousmane Sonko as Prime Minister, after Sonko was barred from running for the presidency due to defamation charges against him.
The pair promised a leftist pan-African agenda – diversifying political and economic partnerships, reviewing hydrocarbons and fishing contracts, and reestablishing Senegal’s sovereignty, which they accused of It was “sold abroad”.
The opposition-led parliament disrupted the government’s first months in power, forcing Faye to dissolve parliament in September and call snap elections as soon as the constitution allowed him to do so.
Analysts say Senegalese voters have historically confirmed their choice for president during parliamentary elections, and the ruling Pastef party is the favorite to win.
Earlier this year, the West African country saw its worst violence in decades ahead of presidential elections. Then-President Macky Sall delayed the vote, originally scheduled for February, plunging the country into chaos. The move led to deadly protests, as well as severe criticism from the country’s highest court.
Elections were eventually held on 24 March, in which Faye, a relatively unknown candidate appointed by the widely popular Sonko, won in a landslide. But seven months after the vote the promises have still not been fulfilled, with Sonko blaming the opposition-led parliament for failing to pass the legislation needed to implement promised reforms.
Senegal is plunged into a debt crisis as the new government says it finds the budget deficit is much larger than under the previous government. The $1.9 billion IMF program is on hold while government audits are reviewed.
The main threat to the Pastef party’s ambitions is an unexpected alliance of two opposition parties, including the Sall-led Alliance for the Republic (APR). The race also includes two small opposition coalitions – one led by Dakar Mayor Barthélemy Dias.
Mariam Wayne Lee, a former MP and pioneer for women in politics in Senegal, said the election campaign gave leaders a chance to explain their agenda and that she was hopeful Pastef would win a majority.
“I think it will take away all the unhappiness,” she said.
