There was this moment when Macky Sall was a shining hero. In 2012 this was Senegal's Constitutional Court had just allowed the then head of state Abdoulaye Wade an actually banned third candidacy - and the people went in protest against it on the street. Democracy was in danger, but with civil disobedience and ongoing protests, people made sure that Wade did not get away with it. He still entered, but accepted his defeat after the runoff election. And Macky Salls became, almost by mistake, the bearer of hope that redeemed the land of Wade.

The euphoria of that time is now not so much felt before the next presidential election. Although the president has so far been largely unencumbered by allegations of corruption and the economy has grown steadily during his tenure, most recently even by almost seven percent. It is true that Sall has completed megaprojects, especially the new capital airport. The press is free, the rule of law has been and will be further strengthened.

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Inhabitants of Dakar, behind it the "Monument of the African Rebirth"

But on the other hand, the prosperity gap between city and country under him has grown even larger. Another symbol of this is the feeder train TER, one of Sall's flagship projects. From June, he will be connecting the capital with the Aéroport, which has just been laid 55 kilometers out of town. The train alone cost more than a billion euros - a horrendous amount compared to Senegal's annual budget of just five billion euros.

Is Sall driving the country into debt?

Because of such projects, Sall is accused of thinking too much of the elites and of the millions of poor people in the country. In addition: The beautiful economic growth is borrowed, the public debt under Sall increased dramatically.

The TER, a freeway, the new National Theater, the Museum of Black Civilizations, a wrestling arena; many of these public investments were realized with foreign capital, and $ 1.6 billion came from China in 2017 alone. And the rural population rightly asks what they have besides rising per capita debt from the blingbling in the capital.

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Macky Sall receives China's Xi Jinping in Dakar

Sall likes to emphasize his simple origins - children of little people and the village - but as a politician he feels at home on the world stage, where he likes to look east.

Two counterparties legally switched off?

On Sunday, seven million senegalese eligible to vote decide on the future of their president. He also wants to score points with his proximity to China. In his autobiographical election campaign "Le Sénégal au Coeur" (Senegal in the Heart), Sall recalls that years ago he called Mao Zedong, China's communist revolutionary, a political role model. And he mentions that he was with Xi Jinping in China in the summer of 2018 - "number two in the world economy". Just before, Xi had stopped by in Dakar and promised $ 60 billion for Africa.

Five opposing candidates were admitted to the first round of voting - just the two most promising challengers are not among them: Karim Wade, son of Salls predecessor, and the socialist Khalifa Sall, ex-mayor of Dakar. They came - as some other unpleasant presidential candidates in the past already - legal trouble in between.

Wade was sentenced to six years in prison in 2015 for corruption in his time as a minister. Sall pardoned him - but for the young Wade applies as for the sentenced only in January Khalifa Sall: Who receives a prison sentence of at least five years, may not stand for the presidency. In mid-January, the Constitutional Council confirmed that both may not compete.

The most interesting is therefore among the remaining challengers of the comparatively young Ousmane Sonko, 44, and only since 2017 Member of the National Assembly.

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Ousmane Sonko

According to an analysis by the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung in Dakar, Sonko is very popular among the young urban population and the upper levels of education. He pleads for a strengthening of parliament vis-a-vis the presidential office. And Sonko accuses the incumbent of not really using newly discovered gas deposits of the country for the Senegalese. In addition, Sall accumulates debts, too often for individual prestige projects.

A poll saw Macky Sall in early December at almost 50 percent in the first ballot. The incumbent wants to avoid a runoff election - but he himself has already experienced that the democracy-loving Senegalese are good for surprises.