Opposition leader Bassirou Diomaye Faye has emerged as favourite to win Senegal's presidential election, after several rivals conceded.
Millions took part in a peaceful vote on Sunday, following
three years of turbulence and opposition protests against the incumbent, Macky
Sall.
Voters had a choice of 17 candidates.
However, the ruling coalition's choice, Amadou Ba, rejected
reports of defeat and said he expected to contest a run-off vote to decide a
winner.
Mr Faye, 44, a senior official in the Pastef party led by
Ousmane Sonko, had been in jail only days before the vote. Mr Sonko was
disqualified from the race because of a defamation conviction.
The first set of tallies announced on television showed Mr
Faye had won the majority of votes, triggering widespread street celebrations
in the capital Dakar.
Supporters set off fireworks, waved Senegalese flags and
blew vuvuzelas.
The results also led to five opposition candidates
declaring Mr Faye the winner. Anta Babacar Ngom, the only female candidate,
wished Mr Faye success in a statement.
It is not clear how many of the 15,633 polling stations
have been counted so far. Final provisional results are expected by Tuesday.
Mr Sonko backed Mr Faye, the co-creator of his now
dissolved Pastef party, who was also detained almost a year ago on charges
including defamation and contempt of court.
An amnesty law passed this month allowed their release days
before the vote.
They have campaigned together under the banner
"Diomaye is Sonko". Some high-profile politicians and opposition
candidates have backed Mr Faye's candidacy.
"The population is choosing between continuation and
rupture," Mr Faye said after casting his vote, urging contenders to accept
the winner.
Mr Sall, the incumbent, was not on the ballot for the first
time in Senegal's history. His ruling coalition picked Mr Ba, 62, a former
prime minister.
Mr Ba's campaign said that "considering the feedback
of the results from our team of experts, we are certain that, in the worst-case
scenario, we will go to a run-off".
About 7.3 million people were registered to vote in the
country of around 18 million.
The election had been due to take place last month but Mr
Sall postponed it, triggering deadly opposition protests. BBC
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