The campaign has begun in earnest for the race for the presidency in Senegal. The incumbent, Macky Sall, is being challenged by four others. Initially, there were many other contenders but the country’s Constitutional Court disqualified some of them.
Among those disqualified was Khalifa Sallah, mayor of Dakar and Mr Karim Wade, son of former president Mr Abdoulaye Wade who was convicted on charges of economic crimes. The insistence of Abdoulaye Wade that his son be the standard bearer for his PDS party resulted in a split which saw longtime ally Madicke Nyang, run separately.
The campaign is on high gear with fears that there may be some form of violence as supporters of the various candidates are crisscrossing the country. This is further heightened by the fact that supporters of the PDS are not satisfied with the ruling of the Constitutional Court which disqualified their favorite candidate.
Furthermore, the use of invectives among supporters of candidates is fuelling the fires of violence. It was reported in the media that at least three people lost their lives on the campaign trail yesterday.
It was hoped that the violence stops and the campaign continues in peace and harmony.
