The Senegalese opponent Bassirou Diomaye Faye largely won in the first round of the presidential election with 54.28% of the votes, far ahead of the government candidate Amadou Ba (35.79%), indicate the provisional final results announced on Wednesday.
The third, Aliou Mamadou Dia, candidate of the Unity and Rally Party, only received 2.8% of the votes, according to figures announced to the Dakar court by the president of the National Votes Census Commission, Amady Diouf.
The victory of the anti-system opponent, still in prison ten days before Sunday's election, must now be validated by the Constitutional Council, which could be done in a few days depending on possible appeals.
This victory was already understood after the unofficial publication of partial results.
The publication by the National Voting Census Commission, under the jurisdiction of justice, confirms the extent of this.
72 hours to file an appeal
Participation was 61.30%.
This is less than in 2019, when outgoing President Macky Sall obtained a second term, also in the first round, but more than in 2012. This accelerated proclamation seems to clear the way for a transfer of power between Mr. Sall and his successor.
The serious political crisis caused by the last minute postponement of the presidential election in February and the tightening of the calendar with the setting of the new date of March 24 have sowed doubt about the possibility of an investiture before the official expiration of the mandate of the President Sall, April 2.
This timely transfer, highly significant in a country which prides itself on its democratic practices, now appears realistic, provided that the results do not give rise to challenge before the Constitutional Council.
A candidate has 72 hours to file an appeal before the Constitutional Council after the proclamation by the National Commission.
In the absence of dispute within these three days,
“the Council immediately proclaims the final results of the vote”
, says the Constitution.
But in the event of an objection, the Council has five days to decide, and the handover before April 2 could be called into question.