Senegalese voters go to polls in delayed presidential election

People rest next to a fountain adorned with the Senegalese flag at Place de l'Independance, March 20, 2024, ahead of the upcoming presidential elections in Dakar, Senegal. [AP photo]

Senegal goes to the polls on Sunday to vote for its fifth president in a delayed election being held against a turbulent political backdrop which has triggered violent anti-government protests and boosted support for the opposition.

At stake is the potential end of a regime that has sustained investor-friendly policies in the soon-to-become oil and gas producer, but which has failed to alleviate economic hardship and stirred unrest in one of coup-prone West Africa's most stable democracies.