Senegal's ruling coalition loses majority in legislative polls

JOHN WESSELS AFP DAKAR Senegal's ruling Benno Bokk Yakaar BBY coalition lost its comfortable majority in parliament, securing just two seats more than two allied opposition coalitions in a legislative election at the weekend, the electoral commission said on Thursday.

The results from Sunday's vote showed that President Macky Sall's BBY won 82 of 165 seats, one short of the 83 required for an absolute majority, while the alliance of opposition coalitions Yewwi Askane Wi YAW and Wallu Senegal won 80.

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Sall said on Twitter after the results were released that he salutes the Senegalese people for the exemplary nature of our democracy and the credibility of our electoral system.

Both BBY and the YAW-Wallu alliance had earlier claimed victory, with opposition leader Ousmane Sonko saying the ruling coalition would try to steal the vote and calling for their supporters to be ready to defend their choice.

BBY secured 125 seats in the last legislative poll in 2017 and lost 43 seats reflects growing public acrimony toward Sall, which is fuelled by his refusal to state clearly whether he plans to run for a third mandate in 2024 in breach of term limits.

Economic hardship has been linked to the coronaviruses and rising fuel and food prices, which has sparked frustrations in the usually stable West African country.

The Senegalese people gave a real lesson in democracy to the political class, BBY member Amadou Sall told Reuters.

Sonko's PASTEF party, a member of the YAW, said it would not accept the results, citing alleged voting irregularities in northern regions.

A BBY representative said these claims were baseless.

The commission has not commented on the allegations and YAW says its request to look into the irregularities has been rejected by the commission.

Since violent protests broke out last year, tensions in the country of 17.5 million have run high, when Sonko, who came third in the 2019 presidential election, was arrested on rape charges. Sonko denies the allegations.