The global community demands a fresh date and transparent elections following the president's announcement of an indefinite postponement.
A protester aligned with the opposition kneels before a flaming roadblock amidst demonstrations organized by opposition parties in Dakar, Senegal.Senegalese authorities suppressed demonstrations in the capital Dakar, with at least one prominent opposition figure detained, following President Macky Sall's announcement of an indefinite delay of the presidential election set for February 25. The European Union labeled the postponement as a "time of uncertainty", while the United States urged prompt scheduling of a new date for fair elections. In a televised speech, Sall revealed the cancellation of the electoral law, citing a disagreement over the list of candidates.
Senegal's President Macky Sall
Senegal’s Macky Sall postpones presidential election
The vote, originally scheduled to take place on February 25, was delayed after a dispute over the candidate list.
Senegal’s President Macky Sall has indefinitely postponed the presidential election that was scheduled to take place on February 25.
Speaking in a televised address to the nation on Saturday, the president announced he had cancelled the relevant electoral law, citing a dispute over the candidate list.
Sall said he signed a decree abolishing a November 2023 measure that had set the original election date.
“I will initiate an open national dialogue to bring together the conditions for a free, transparent and inclusive election in a peaceful and reconciled Senegal,” he said, without giving a new date.
The announcement comes after the Constitutional Council last month excluded some prominent opposition members from the list of candidates.
The decision brought the integrity of the election process into question and fuelled growing discontent, with excluded candidates saying the rules for candidacy were not applied fairly – something the authorities have denied.
The opposition Senegalese Democratic Party (PDS), whose candidate Karim Wade was among those excluded from running in the election, had earlier submitted a formal request to postpone the vote.
However, the opposition PASTEF Party did not approve of the decision to pause the election. “We feel this is a constitutional coup,” Yassine Fall, Pastef’s Vice President.
“Macky Sall is not doing this for us, he is doing this against us,” she said. “Macky Sall understands that if we go to elections, we will win by a landslide victory. But he wants to stay in power or have someone from his party to be elected. This is why he plays these kinds of games to come and manipulate the institutions illegally.
“We are right now at a very dangerous setback in our democracy because Macky Sall is taking responsibilities that are not his own.”
He mentioned that he approved a decree rescinding a November 2023 regulation that had established the initial election date, without specifying a new date. A few weeks ago, Senegal's Constitutional Council disqualified several well-known opposition figures from the candidate list.
SOURCE: cometodaddy.xyz
