Senegal's president fights for mandate in parliamentary race 

Dakar — 

With fireworks displays, packed rallies, and town-to-town caravans, Senegalese governmental parties are wooing voters successful a parliamentary contention that volition determine the grade to which the caller president volition beryllium capable to instrumentality his agenda.

President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has been nether unit to marque bully connected promises to ace down connected corruption and amended livelihoods that helped expanse him to powerfulness successful April pursuing a landslide predetermination triumph the erstwhile month.

Faye has accused lawmakers successful the opposition-led nationalist assembly of refusing to prosecute successful meaningful talks connected the fund and different proposals and dissolved parliament past month, paving the mode for the legislative predetermination connected Nov. 17.

Campaigning officially kicked disconnected connected Sunday. Faye's Pastef enactment is competing for a bulk that would unafraid his mandate, but erstwhile ruling parties person formed a rival conjugation that unites the country's influential ex-presidents Macky Sall and Abdoulaye Wade.

"This predetermination has symbolic significance," said governmental expert Mamadou Seck. "The captious situation contiguous is for Diomaye Faye to recognize whether the radical who elected him with 54% inactive enactment his program."

Earlier successful October, the authorities unveiled an ambitious 25-year improvement program that Faye promised would boost section industry, diversify the economy, and make much-needed jobs for the West African country's fast-growing population.

The main menace to Pastef's ambitions is the unexpected confederation of Sall's Alliance for the Republic enactment (APR) and Wade's Senegalese Democratic Party (PDS), who unneurotic accounted for 106 of 165 seats successful the outgoing nationalist assembly.

"This is the archetypal clip Pastef has decided to tally alone, without a coalition. It appears that they are investigating their spot and influence," said expert Seck, cautioning that the enactment had besides recruited one-time allies of Sall successful an effort to enactment up support.

The contention besides includes 2 smaller absorption coalitions represented by erstwhile Prime Minister Amadou Ba and politician of the superior Dakar Barthelemy Dias.

"I privation each Senegalese and each governmental actors a peaceful and dignified electoral campaign, and I warrant that ... the champion volition win," Faye said connected nationalist TV connected Friday.