**Senegal prepares for presidential elections this Sunday after delays and uncertainties**
In Dakar, in the alleys of the Dakar fabric market, supporters of Ousmane Sonko’s protégé, Bassirous Diomaye Faye, and of the only female candidate for the presidency of Senegal, Anta Babacar, display their confidence. For Samba, a seller on the market, Diomaye is a trusted figure: “We trust Diomaye, he will help us prevent young people from taking to the sea to go abroad. What they are looking for there, we we have it here. Senegal is rich, but we lack good leadership.”
Isseu, meanwhile, is part of a minority that supports Anta Babacar. Proudly displaying a hat in the colors of Babacar and images of a rally in which she participated, Diack asserts: “We, women, must organize ourselves. We can bring together all women. Everything that men can do, women can too. Anta is capable of it.”
A total of 19 candidates are vying to succeed Macky Sall, and the ruling party has nominated Sall’s former prime minister, Amadou Ba. Babacar Ndiaye, political analyst at the Dakar-based think tank Wathi, emphasizes that the youth vote will be crucial in this election.
“Senegal is a country where the majority of the population is made up of young people. 75% of the population is under 35 years old. Questions such as the economy, employment or even the creation of industries are the subjects that were raised during this presidential election.”
Around 7.3 million Senegalese are registered to vote. This presidential election is considered the most unpredictable and many observers expect a runoff between the main candidates.