Former EFF member and now deputy secretary-general of Abathu Batho Congress, Jackie Shandu, has expressed his support for Senegalese presidential candidate Ousmane Sonko ahead of the Sunday poll.
Senegal goes to the highly contested presidential election after much uncertainty, just a month ago, following President Macky Sall’s unsuccessful efforts to delay the vote until the end of the year, sparking widespread violent protests.
The election was originally scheduled for 25 February, but Sall announced an indefinite postponement, causing mass riots in a country viewed as a bastion of democracy in West Africa.
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After weeks of turmoil, the Constitutional Council ruled that the election must take place before April 2, when Sall’s second term in office comes to an end.
With pressure mounting within the country and from the international community, Sall had little choice but to give in and set the polls for March 24.
“Tomorrow Senegal goes to the polls. Our prayers and support go to brother Ousmane Sonko – the only militant and radical Pan Afrikanist candidate opposed to brutal French neocolonialism currently managed [by] Sall. Brother Sall takes from Sembene, Diop, Ba,” Shandu wrote on his X account.
Over 7 million registered Senegalese citizens are expected to cast their vote on Sunday, to pick a successor to Sall, who ruled the country for 12 years.
Under Senegal’s electoral system, a candidate needs to secure more than 50% of the vote to win and avoid a runoff.
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