Senegal set to vote in legislative elections

About 6 million voters head to the polls on Sunday July 30 in Senegal parliamentary elections.

There are 165 seats to be filled in the National Assembly, and voters will choose from a record 47 lists, casting their ballots by party rather than for individual candidates.

Fifteen seats are being set aside for Senegalese expatriates – the first time that the country’s diaspora, estimated at 500,000 people, will have direct representation.

Among the top contenders is Dakar mayor Khalifa Sall, who was arrested in March and charged with embezzling public funds while another is former president Abdoulaye Wade.

​The vote comes against the backdrop of a heated campaign season that saw law enforcement authorities battle with opposition protesters in the streets of Dakar.

Many see the vote as a sort of referendum on the current government of President Macky Sall and a preview of his potential challengers for the top job in 2019.

Polling takes place between 8:00am and 6:00pm local time, with first results due early Monday.