The campaign trail is heating up in Senegal with just 6 days to go until voters head to the polls.
Embattled opposition leader, Ousmane Sonko is rallying behind his coalition’s presidential candidate after he was barred from running.
Senegal’s electoral commission says all voting materials are ready to go ahead of elections taking place this Sunday.
19 candidates are running to be the country’s next president.
Opposition leader Ousmane Sonko says Bassirou Faye is the best candidate for the presidency because he’ll crack down on corruption and improve the country’s economy.
Sonko was barred from running himself after being convicted of several charges including corrupting the youth and calling for insurrection.
Sonko and Faye, who were convicted of contempt of court and acts likely to compromise public peace, were both released from prison last week.
President Macky Sall granted them amnesty to quell public anger that has been building up since the polls, which were supposed to be held on February 25th, were delayed.
The two front runners are the ruling party’s candidate, Amadou Ba, who resigned as Prime Minister to contest for the presidency and the opposition candidate, Bassirou Faye.
People in Senegal have been grappling with the rising cost of living and the unemployment rate is also high, especially among young people.
The next leader faces the uphill task of improving the country’s economy and creating jobs for Senegal’s younger generation. -Report from Nabil Ahmed Rufai from Accra
