FEBRUARY 24th  ELECTIONS-        President Macky Sall of Senegal has won his re-election bid garnering 58% of the votes cast, according to provisional results from the National Vote Counting Commission on Thursday.

The majority win hands Sall a second term without a run-off vote. Opposition candidate Idrissa Seck came second with 21 percent of votes, while Ousmane Sonko placed third with 16 percent.

Sall, whom rights groups have criticized for squeezing out rivals, was tipped to win after a modernising first term that propelled Senegal’s economic growth to more than six percent – one of the highest in Africa.

Opposition has 72 hours to appeal

After the Sunday’s vote, opposition candidates have rejected reports of an out-right victory for Sall, saying their tallies point to a second round of voting.

Seck and Sonko have not yet commented on the National Vote Counting Commission’s results, which are preliminary until validated by the constitutional council. The candidates have 72 hours to register an appeal.

Senegal has long been viewed as West Africa’s most stable democracy, with peaceful transitions of power since it gained independence from France in 1960.

More than 66 percent of 6.7 million registered voters took part in the election.