15 candidates denounce Macky Sall’s “inexplicable slowness” in setting a new date

“Nothing has been done,” they emphasize in a joint press release published Tuesday.

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Senegalese President Macky Sall in Dubai (United Arab Emirates), December 1, 2023. (KARIM SAHIB / AFP)

A group of 15 presidential candidates in Senegal accuse the head of state Macky Sall of “bad will”, and announce actions to ensure that the date of the election postponed to an as yet undetermined date is quickly fixed. “An inexplicable slowness has been noted. Nothing has been done,” despite the developments of the past week, they underline in a joint press release published Tuesday February 20.

The citizen collective Aar Sunu Election (“Let’s protect our election”) for its part affirmed that a new rally would take place on Saturday. He calls for the vote to be held before April 2, the date on which the mandate of President Macky Sall ends. According to its projections, the election, initially scheduled for February 25, must take place on March 3 at the latest.

Senegal is going through a political crisis not seen in decades after the decision in early February by President Macky Sall and the National Assembly to postpone the presidential election. This postponement, denounced as a “constitutional coup” by the opposition, provoked demonstrations which left three dead.

Nothing has filtered out of the discussions that the president would lead

Last week, the Constitutional Council vetoed this postponement and the maintenance of Macky Sall in his post until the installation of his successor. He noted the impossibility of maintaining the presidential election on February 25 and asked the authorities to organize it “as soon as possible”.

Macky Sall said his intention to respect the decision of the Council and to carry out “without delaying the necessary consultations” to the organization of the vote. The Senegalese are now waiting to know the new date. Nothing has leaked publicly about the discussions that the president would lead. “Everything suggests that Macky Sall cannot digest the defeat by the Constitutional Council and the people of his attempt to sabotage the presidential election,” slip the 15 candidates into their press release.


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