Following Cheikh Tidiane Dieye’s withdrawal in favor of Bassirou Diomaye Faye on Wednesday, the candidate of the dissolved opposition party Pastef, the number of candidates has decreased from 18 to 17 as former minister Habib Sy follows suit.
“I withdraw my candidacy in favor of Bassirou Diomaye Faye,” declared Habib Sy alongside the Pastef candidate during their caravan passage in the commune of Linguere, 300 km north of Dakar, this afternoon.
Habib Sy, who has served as a minister several times and as director of the cabinet to Abdullaye Wade, justifies his decision out of concern for clarity for the voters and to prevent the dispersion of opposition votes in the first round of the presidential election scheduled for Sunday.
Habib Sy was able to be a candidate thanks to the endorsements of Pastef’s parliamentarians, the dissolved party on behalf of which Bassirou Diomaye Faye is now vying for the presidency. As Habib Sy states, today, “In this final stretch before the presidential election,” it was logical for him to withdraw.
Things are less clear on the side of the Senegalese Democratic Party (PDS) whose candidate Karim Wade has been disqualified from the presidential race. The PDS, which is being courted by many, has not yet decided whether to support a candidate or not.