Senegal’s legislative election tests ruling party influence

Voters in Senegal turned out Sunday for a legislative election, a vital test for opposition parties who are trying to minimize the ruling party’s influence before the 2024 presidential election amid worries that President Macky Sall may seek a third term.
About 7 million voters are eligible to elect 165 deputies in the National Assembly amid a politically tense atmosphere in the West African nation. Violent protests broke out last year after Sall’s main opponent, Ousmane Sonko, was arrested on rape charges, and more than a dozen people were killed. Sonko, who came in third in the 2019 election, denies the allegations and his supporters have been vocal about their opposition to the president.