Senegalese President Macky Sall is headed towards a second term in office, his prime minister has alleged.

Mohammed Dionne said preliminary results suggested Mr Sall had secured about 57% of the vote in Sunday’s elections, but an official result will take days.

But rival candidates warned against declaring the result prematurely.

Mr Sall faced four challengers in the vote, but was accused of preventing his main rivals from running.

Two well-known opposition figures were barred from taking part, after being deemed ineligible because of corruption convictions.

As a result of the decision neither the Socialist Party nor the Senegalese Democratic Party, which have dominated the country’s political landscape since independence, are fielding presidential candidates.

Only five candidates were deemed eligible for Sunday’s vote, compared to 12 in the last election.