Opposition candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye has taken an early lead in Senegal's presidential elections, prompting his supporters to celebrate in the streets.
His primary challenger from the ruling coalition claimed a run-off would be required to decide the winner.
As the election results filtered in on Sunday, at least five of the 19 contenders in the race made comments praising Faye.
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Former Prime Minister Amadou Ba, the ruling coalition's candidate, said the celebrations were premature.
"For our part, and considering the feedback of the results from our team of experts, we are certain that, in the worst case scenario, we will go to a run-off," Ba's campaign said in a statement.
Millions voted peacefully to elect Senegal's fifth president after three years of unparalleled political turmoil spurred violent anti-government rallies and boosted opposition support.
Outgoing President Macky Sall's government, which has supported investor-friendly policies but failed to alleviate economic misery in one of West Africa's most stable democracies, might end.
Voters had a choice of 19 candidates to succeed Sall, who is stepping down after a second term disrupted by unrest over the prosecution of fiery opposition leader Ousmane Sonko and suspicions that the president was attempting to prolong his mandate beyond the constitutional limit.
At least five opposition candidates eventually proclaimed Faye the winner, thus admitting defeat. They included one of the primary contestants, Anta Babacar Ngom, who issued a statement wishing Faye luck as Senegal's leader.
It was unclear how many of the 15,633 voting places had been tabulated thus far.
The final preliminary results are anticipated by Tuesday. A second round of voting will take place only if no contender receives the more than 50% majority necessary to avoid a runoff.
