Senegal’s presidential candidates kicked off their campaign on Saturday after weeks of violent protests in the African country over delayed voting.
The 19 approved candidates vying for the top job now have less time to rally supporters ahead of a March 24 election expected to be Senegal’s most closely contested since it gained independence more than six years ago election.
The latest violent protests have also raised concerns about a country once seen as a beacon of democratic stability in West Africa, a region plagued by coups and insecurity.
President Macky Sall, who is unable to run due to term limits, postponed elections last month just weeks before they were scheduled for February 25. He plunged Senegal into chaos when he announced that the vote would be held in 10 months. The streets were filled with opposition protests.
Senegal’s top electoral body, the Constitutional Council, rejected Sall’s postponement and ordered the government to set a new date as soon as possible. Government spokesman Abdel Karim Fofana announced the new dates earlier this week.
Alioune Tine, founder of the Senegalese think tank Afrikajom Center, said candidates with the most financial resources may benefit from the shorter window because of the delay.
“It’s going to be a tough battle,” Thien said, adding there was no clear favorite.
Much of the future campaigning and the vote itself will take place during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, when devout believers fast from dawn to dusk. Ramadan is expected to begin at sunset on Sunday, depending on the appearance of the moon.
Senegal has a majority Muslim population.
The front-runners are likely to be former Prime Minister Amadou Ba, chosen by the ruling party, and jailed lesser-known candidate Basilu Diomaye Faye, popular as leader of the disbanded Pasteur Party.
Diomaye Faye has been in jail for nearly a year but will be released in time for the elections after the president passed a decree freeing political prisoners.
He replaces opposition leader Ousmane Sonko, who is also in prison but barred from running. In June, Sonko was charged with corrupting teenagers and sentenced to two years in prison.
Other candidates include former Dakar mayor Khalifa Sall, who is running for a fourth term, and another former prime minister, Idrissa Szeke.
The only female candidate is Anta Babacar Ngom, the head of Sedima, one of the country’s largest food companies.
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