Senegal's constitutional council on Thursday confirmed the results of the July 31 legislative vote that saw the ruling Benno Bokk Yakaar (BBY) coalition lose its comfortable majority in parliament.
The published final results confirmed President Macky Sall's BBY won 82 out of 165 seats, one short of the 83 required for an absolute majority, while the alliance of opposition coalitions Yewwi Askane Wi (YAW) and the Wallu Senegal won 80.
BBY secured 125 seats in the last parliamentary poll in 2017, and its loss of 43 seats reflects growing public acrimony towards Sall, fuelled in part by his refusal to state clearly whether he plans to run for a third mandate in 2024 in breach of term limits.
(Reporting by Diadie Ba; Writing by Alessandra Prentice; Editing by Lincoln Feast)
