Supporters of former Prime Minister of Senegal Amadou Ba, candidate for the Benno Bokk Yakaar 2024 coalition, hold banners ans signs at the closing rally of the presidential election campaign in Dakar, Senegal, March 22, 2024. (PHOTO / AFP)

DAKAR - Senegal goes to the polls on Sunday to vote for its fifth president in a delayed election with 19 contenders vying to replace President Macky Sall, who is stepping down after a second term.

The incumbent is not on the ballot for the first time in Senegal's history. His ruling coalition has picked former prime minister Amadou Ba, 62, as its candidate.

Vote counting will start immediately after polls close and provisional results are expected by March 26

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"I believe that I'm the candidate that offers political stability, serenity, and the capacity to move Senegal forward rapidly," Ba told journalists as campaigning closed on Friday. "Senegal does not need a complete overhaul."

Around 7.3 million people are registered to vote, with polls opening at 0800 GMT and closing at 1800 GMT.

Vote counting will start immediately after polls close and provisional results are expected by March 26.

Opposition leader Ousmane Sonko, who was disqualified from the race due to a defamation conviction, is backing former tax inspector Bassirou Diomaye Faye, 43, co-creator of the now dissolved Pastef party. Some high-profile politicians and opposition candidates have also backed Faye's candidacy.

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Other contenders include ex-Dakar mayor Khalifa Sall (no relation to the outgoing president), entrepreneur-turned-politician Anta Babacar Ngom, who is the only woman running, and veteran politician Idrissa Seck, who came second in the 2019 presidential election.