(31 Jul 2022)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Dakar - 31 July 2022
1. Wide of voting centre
2. Members of the voting center putting up sign
3. Close of ballot box reading (French) "Republic of Senegal. Legislative Elections for 31 July 2022"
4. Mid of member of voting center putting ballots on table
5. Various of members of voting center checking the list of voters and IDs of people
6. Mid of man casting his vote
7. Close of man putting ink in his finger after voting
8. SOUNDBITE (French) Oumar Gueye, polling station president:
"At the time everything is going well, and we were asked if all is well and everything is well, normal"
9. Various of people waiting to cast vote
10. Various of people inside polling station
11. Various of man casting vote
12. SOUNDBITE (French) Elhadj Samba Sow, voter:
"40 minutes ago I voted, and now I'm going back home"
13. Various of people in line outside polling station
14. Various of ECOWAS electoral observer taking notes inside polling station
15. SOUNDBITE (French) Mbaye Louis Soumar, Independent Electoral Observer (not part of ECOWAS):
"Generally speaking it is going well, apart from a few delays, but it is going well."
16. Various of people outside a voting center
STORYLINE:
Senegal is holding a legislative election Sunday, a vital test for opposition parties who are trying to minimize the ruling party's influence before the 2024 presidential election amid worries that President Macky Sall may seek a third term.
About 7 million voters are eligible to elect 165 deputies in the National Assembly amid a politically tense atmosphere in the West African nation.
Violent protests broke out last year after Sall’s main opponent, Ousmane Sonko, was arrested on rape charges, and more than a dozen people were killed.
Sonko, who came in third in the 2019 election, denies the allegations and his supporters have been vocal about their opposition to the president.
This year, he and another of Sall’s major opponents were disqualified as candidates, which sparked more widespread anger and protests in which three people died in June.
Senegal, with a population of 17 million, is known for its stability in a region that has seen coups in three countries since 2020 and where leaders have changed laws to remain in power for third terms.
Sunday's election will give a clearer indication of what could happen in 2024.
Even though Sonko’s candidacy was rejected by the Constitutional Council, he has organized opposition supporters across Senegal.
Sall’s Benno Bokk Yakaar ruling party currently holds 75% of the legislature's seats.
Sall hasn’t talked about a third term but has promised to speak Monday, the day after the election.
Dissatisfaction with Sall has risen as possible adversaries - including the popular former mayor of Dakar, Khalifa Sall, and ex-president Abdoulaye Wade's son Karim Wade - have been targeted by the judiciary and disqualified from running for office.
Many accuse Sall of using his power to eliminate opponents.
Anger has also grown amid economic worries as prices for fuel and food have skyrocketed due to the war in Ukraine.
AP video shot by Abdoulaye Djakhate
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