Early results from Senegal’s presidential election put opposition candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye ahead, sending his supporters to celebrate in the West African country.

About five of the 19 candidates in the race issued statements as results trickled after the election on Sunday, congratulating 44-year-old Faye.

Former Prime Minister Amadou Ba, the ruling coalition’s candidate, however, said that celebrations were premature.

Ba added that a run-off will be needed to determine the winner.

“For our part, and 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,” Ba’s campaign said in a statement.

Millions took part in a peaceful day of voting to elect Senegal’s fifth president following three years of unprecedented political turbulence that sparked violent anti-government protests and buoyed support for the opposition.

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At stake is the potential end of an administration led by outgoing President Macky Sall that has promoted investor-friendly policies but failed to ease economic hardship in one of coup-prone West Africa’s more stable democracies.

Voters had a choice of 19 contenders to replace Sall, who is stepping down after a second term marred by unrest over the prosecution of firebrand opposition leader Ousmane Sonko and concerns that the president wanted to extend his mandate past the constitutional limit.

The incumbent was not on the ballot for the first time in Senegal’s history. His ruling coalition picked Ba, 62, as its candidate.

About 7.3 million people were registered to vote in the country of around 18 million. Turnout was at around 71 per cent, according to state television RTS.

Election Day ran smoothly with no major incidents reported.

The first set of tallies announced on television showed Faye had won the majority of votes, triggering widespread street celebrations in the capital Dakar.

Jubilant supporters gathered in Sonko’s neighbourhood as supporters set off fireworks, waved Senegalese flags, and blew vuvuzelas.

At least five opposition candidates later declared Faye the winner, effectively conceding defeat. They included one of the main contenders, Anta Babacar Ngom, who wished Faye success as leader of Senegal in a statement.

It was not clear how many of the 15,633 polling stations have been counted so far, according to Reuters.

Final provisional results are expected by Tuesday. A second round of voting will only take place if no candidate secures the more than 50 per cent majority required to prevent a runoff.

The Star