05 August 2017•Update: 07 August 2017
By Alpha Kamara
DAKAR, Senegal
The National Electoral Commission declared victory for the ruling party coalition in the country's parliamentary elections on Saturday, which won 125 seats out of 165 in the National Assembly.
The ruling coalition obtained 1,663,447 votes, which is 49.48 percent out of 3,300,974 valid ballots. The opposition coalition led by former President Abdoulaye Wade followed with 549,551 votes, securing 19 parliamentary seats. The coalition of jailed Dakar Mayor Kalifa Sall came in third with 387,717 votes and seven parliamentary seats.
Meanwhile, the opposition parties described the votes as fraudulent and vowed to contest them. The results will be verified by the Constitutional Council.
Opposition leader and former Prime Minister Idrissa Seck told a news conference: “Since the chaotic elections of 1988, no election has been as fraudulent in Senegal as this one.
“It lacks sincerity and transparency. Force was used by the ruling party to scare our supporters.”
Another opposition figure, Abraham Samakeh said the results will be petitioned for a recount.
“We will protest the results and will call for a recount because there were several irregularities,” Samakeh said.
Sunday’s election was marred by disagreements and animosity after the constitutional court allowed a request from the president to allow people without voter identity cards to use national documents -- a move that was opposed by the opposition.
In some areas, police had to intervene to disperse opposition supporters who protested over the late start of voting.
In total, 14 parties will be represented at the national assembly out of 47 political coalitions that contested the election.
