Senegal at a time of choice. Since this Sunday, November 17, we have been voting for the early legislative elections. More than seven million Senegalese are called to the polls to elect 165 deputies. This is a single round ballot. Crowds continue in several polling stations.
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In the popular neighborhood of Parcelles Assainies, in Dakar, at primary school 19 where our correspondent was, at midday Léa-Lisa Westerhoffas well as in the high school next door, voters arrived continuously without long queues.
A little over 1,000 voters had already voted since the opening of the polls in this voting center, where nearly 6,000 voters are registered.
After a slight delay in lighting, the operations were fluid, although slowed down by the number of ballot papers – 41 in all – A4 format which each time contains the list of candidates for deputy deployed in two rows of school desk.
Even though voters are allowed to take only five ballots to simplify operations, it takes a little time. Each time, you have to fold the chosen ballot, slip it into an envelope and then into a large transparent plastic ballot box, with the mention anticipated legislative elections of November 17.
165 seats are at stake for these legislative elections
Seven seats are at stake for the Dakar department alone, which is also the most populous in the country. The capital is therefore an important issue since the political party which has the most votes wins all of the seven seats in the department.
It is in this department that President Bassirou Diomaye Faye achieved a very significant score with 62.99% of the votes, much more than the national score of 54%.
The challenge here, as in the rest of the country, is therefore to see if the new authorities will obtain the same support from voters, after seven months in office.
Also readSenegal goes to the polls for early legislative elections after a very tense campaign
And it is in view of this issue that the three main opposition groups, respectively that of former President Macky Sall, that of the former Prime Minister, Amadou Ba, and the coalition of the mayor of Dakar, Barthelemy Dias , formed an alliance, in the Dakar department, to try to block and maximize the number of votes.
For now, voting operations are continuing. There are no incidents reported by observers and it will be necessary to wait until mid-afternoon to have a first participation rate at the national level.
MPs represent the people and the Assembly is of paramount importance to the laws of the land…and it also makes the government work.
Micro-sidewalk in the Ouakam district, in the center of Dakar, comments collected this Sunday morning.