Latest Dakar News

Opposition figure who became Senegal's president-elect won over 54% of the vote, results show

Mar. 27, 2024 16:42 PM EDT

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Senegal's little-known opposition figure who was elected president this week in a tightly contested race won over 54% of the votes, according to results released on Wednesday. The presidential election on Sunday marked a stunning victory for 44-year-old...

Senegal voted in a tightly contested presidential race after months of unrest

Mar. 24, 2024 18:08 PM EDT

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Senegalese voted Sunday in a tightly contested presidential race following months of uncertainty and unrest that has tested the West African nation’s reputation as a stable democracy in a region shaken by a wave of coups in recent years. The election comes...

Top Senegal opposition leader vows to help win March 24 election, speaking out after prison release

Mar. 15, 2024 21:39 PM EDT

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Top opposition leader Ousmane Sonko vowed Friday to help his team win Senegal's March 24 presidential election even though he is barred from the ballot, jumping into the campaign in his first public address since being freed from prison a day earlier. Ousmane...

Senegal's top opposition leader freed from prison ahead of presidential election this month

Mar. 15, 2024 05:17 AM EDT

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Senegal’s top opposition leader, Ousmane Sonko, has been released from prison ahead of the presidential election later this month, triggering jubilant celebrations across the country's capital. Sonko is widely seen as the main challenger to President Macky...

Senegal's top surfer wants a fighting chance to compete at the Olympics

Mar. 01, 2024 02:58 AM EST

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Cherif Fall kissed his wife on the lips and they swapped pecks on each other's foreheads, for good luck. Then he zipped up his wetsuit, grabbed his surfboard and strode into water he didn't want to be in. Instead of training in the waves off his Senegal...

Protestors keep pressure on Senegal's president to hold elections as soon as possible

Feb. 17, 2024 11:34 AM EST

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Protestors took the streets in Senegal's capital Saturday to keep the pressure on President Mack Sall to hold elections quickly. Hundreds of people walked and biked through downtown Dakar chanting “Macky dictator,” while others called for the release of...

Senegal's president defends delaying elections in exclusive interview as protests erupt nationwide

Feb. 09, 2024 23:20 PM EST

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Senegalese President Macky Sall defended his decision to postpone elections as violent protests erupted across the country on Friday. In his first interview since announcing the delay, Sall brushed off allegations that the decision was unconstitutional and...

Senegal police clamp down on protesters as opposition rejects election delay

Feb. 04, 2024 18:28 PM EST

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Police made arrests and fired tear gas at opposition supporters during protests Sunday against the decision by President Macky Sall to postpone Senegal's Feb. 25 elections as federal lawmakers prepared to debate a bill to formalize the postponement. ...

Off-road racer Sara Price celebrates becoming first American woman to win stage in Dakar Rally

Jan. 18, 2024 08:48 AM EST

Sara Price slid out of her off-road vehicle at the Dakar Rally, after a rigorous ride through the diabolical dust and dunes in Saudi Arabia, and checked for certain she made history in the endurance event. “I don’t think an American female’s ever won a stage, right,” she...