Understanding the Presidential Elections in Senegal

After losing to Macky Sall with a mere 34.2%, Abdoulaye Wayde acknowledged his defeat only three and a half hours later on 26th March 2012. Once again, Senegal proved to be one of the greatest democracies of our time, having always had peaceful handover of power.
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On the night of 26th March 2012, Senegal proved once again that it is one of the greatest democracies of our time. The second round of presidential elections was won by 50 year-old candidate Macky Sall who received more than 65.4% of the votes against the incumbent, President Abdoulaye Wade, who won only 34.2% of the votes. Honouring his pledge to respect the results of the polls, Wade acknowledged his defeat at 21:30, only three and a half hours after the votes were counted. Sall will be inaugurated as the 4th president of Senegal, an ex-French colony that gained its independence in 1960. The country has always had a peaceful handover of power, in line with the its democratic constitution.