Initial reports described voter turnout as low, and it was estimated that turnout was no higher than 30–35%. Ngom and Prime Minister Macky Sall said that it was premature to say that turnout was low while voting was ongoing; Sall also argued that in any country, turnout in parliamentary elections is lower than in presidential elections. In the February 2007 presidential elections, turnout had been 70%; in the 2001 parliamentary elections it had been 67.4%. After voting, Wade expressed his hope for a large turnout but noted that voting was voluntary in Senegal. The Siggil Sénégal Front described turnout as very low and said that its boycott had been largely observed by the people. Ngom said that the next National Assembly would be legitimate regardless of the turnout rate. Former president Abdou Diouf voted in the election in Paris, despite the participation of the Socialist Party, which he led while he was president, in the boycott.