Africa

Senegal leader faces election challenge

senegalese voters are casting their ballots in the country’s presidential election.

President Macky Sall is seeking a second term and faces four challengers in his bid.

Since coming into office, Mr Sall has focused on new infrastructure projects, but critics say he has done little to improve the lives of ordinary Senegalese.

He is also accused of preventing political rivals from running.

Last month, two well-known opposition figures were barred from contesting the election because of past corruption convictions.

Khalifa Sall, the popular former mayor of Dakar, and Karim Wade, the son of the former president, were deemed ineligible to run because of corruption convictions.

As a result of the decision, neither the Socialist Party nor the Senegalese Democratic Party, which have dominated the country’s political landscape since independence, are fielding presidential candidates.

A law was also passed in 2018 requiring candidates to have a certain number of signatures from voters to be able to run.  —BBC

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