Editor’s Note: Every Friday, WPR Senior Editor Robbie Corey-Boulet curates the top news and analysis from and about the African continent.
Some 27 candidates initially threw their hats in the ring to challenge Senegalese President Macky Sall in the West African nation’s upcoming election, which is scheduled for Feb. 24. Seven weeks out from voting, however, it looks like the actual number of contenders will be considerably lower.
On Wednesday, Senegal’s Constitutional Council ruled that 19 candidacy registrations had been rejected outright, while three others were still under review. Only five registrations, Sall’s included, had been approved. As Jeune Afrique noted, it is shaping up to be the smallest presidential field in Senegal in more than three decades.