Senegal’s Macky Sall set for elections win
It is likely that Macky Sall, president since 2012, will garner sufficient support in the February 24 poll to avoid a second-round vote
If Nigeria’s presidential race is too close to call, Senegal’s looks to be more of a one-man show: it is likely that Macky Sall, president since 2012, will garner sufficient support in the February 24 poll to avoid a second-round vote. A Constitutional Court ruling in January effectively put paid to the presidential ambitions of Sall’s most likely challengers: Khalifa Sall (no relation), a popular politician and former mayor of Dakar; and Karim Wade, a former minister and the son of former president Abdoulaye Wade. The court found both ineligible to stand for office due to convictions for corruption. The ruling leaves four other candidates in the running: Ousmane Sonko; former prime minister Idrissa Seck; Madické Niang, the foreign minister under Abdoulaye Wade; and Issa Sall (no relation to Macky or Khalifa). By The Economist’s estimate, none has sufficient clout to force a runoff. While Senegal has largely been seen as a bastion of stability and democratic rule on a continent plag...
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