Senegal polls: Macky Sall camp claims victory

President Macky Sall has won Sunday’s presidential election in Senegal, the country’s prime minister said.

Mahammed Dionne, citing a provincial tally, said Sall garnered at least 57% of the votes cast in Sunday’s poll.

“We must congratulate President Macky Sall for his first round election victory,” Dionne said early on Monday at a news conference in Dakar, the capital.

“Our gathered results show that our candidate has largely won the election in the thirteen out of fourteen regions in the country. We can expect a minimum of 57%. From tomorrow, our candidate restarts his work putting this country on the path toward to development,” Dionne added.

More than 6.5 million people registered to take part in the vote.

The electoral commission has not made any announcement. Official results are expected no later than Friday.

President Sall is seeking a second and final term in office.

A candidate must win more than 50% of the votes to avoid a runoff.

If no candidate has won the required votes, the two candidates with the most votes go to a second round to be held on March 24.

Meanwhile, opposition candidates said there was no winner in Sunday’s poll.