Low turnout as Senegal picks parliament in test for presidential vote

Senegal on Sunday voted in parliamentary elections the opposition hopes will force a coalition with President Macky Sall and curb any ambitions he may have for a third term.

Sixty-year-old Sall, who was elected in 2012 for seven years then re-elected in 2019 for another five, has been accused of wanting to break the two-term limit and run again in 2024.

He has remained vague on the subject, but any defeat of his supporters in Sunday's vote could upset such plans.

Polling stations opened at 0800 GMT and closed at 1800 GMT for the single round of voting in which some seven million Senegalese are eligible to vote.

By midday, turnout had reached 22 percent, a source close to the interior ministry in charge of the elections said.

Turnout at several polling stations appeared relatively low, according to correspondents and observers. 

In Scat Urbam, a suburb near Dakar, far fewer voters than in past polls were waiting to cast their ballots. 

Lawmakers are elected according to a system that combines proportional representation, with national lists for 53 lawmakers, and majority voting in the country's departments for 97 others. 

Its highest-profile member, Ousmane Sonko, came third in the 2019 presidential election.

But he and other members of the coalition have been banned from running in Sunday's elections on technical grounds.