(Dakar) Senegal remains plunged into crisis Thursday the day after a council of ministers during which President Macky Sall announced no gesture of appeasement, despite pressing calls in the country and abroad.
The Senegalese leader faces exhortations from important international partners, as well as the opposition and civil society, to abandon the postponement to December 15 of the election initially scheduled for February 25.
The weekly council of ministers promised to be a milestone in one of the most serious crises experienced in decades by this country readily praised for its stability. But the press release published at the end of the meeting Wednesday evening did not mention the causes of the political crisis.
During the council, Mr. Sall limited himself to recalling “the imperative to promote a peaceful school and university climate”, at a time when schools and the country’s eight public universities are affected by teacher strikes protesting in particular against the postponement of the presidential election.
The head of state asked the government to hold a consultation to “ensure the normal progress of lessons”. The Ministry of Education threatened “disciplinary sanctions” against teachers who stop work for “political reasons”, in another press release.
The holding of the council of ministers had fueled speculation on the possibility of an amnesty likely to be discussed.
An amnesty which would have erased the offenses committed in the context of the unrest that Senegal has experienced since March 2021. They have left dozens of deaths and given rise to hundreds of arrests.
In recent days, the Senegalese press had also suggested that one of the main candidates announced for this presidential election, Ousmane Sonko, but also his second at the head of the dissolved Pastef party, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who have been detained since 2023 could potentially benefit of an amnesty.
Alioune Tine, cited with Pierre Goudiaby Atepa as two civil society figures having played good offices between the presidency and Mr. Sonko’s camp, declared in the media that the latter would be released in the coming days.
Mr. Sall, elected in 2012 and re-elected in 2019, provoked an outcry beyond the opposition by announcing on February 3 the postponement of the presidential election, three weeks before the deadline. The National Assembly set the new electoral date for December 15 and extended the mandate of President Sall, supposed to expire on April 2, until his successor takes office.
The opposition calls for a “constitutional coup”. Security forces suppressed demonstration attempts. Clashes left three people dead. There are more than 260 arrests according to the UN, Human Rights Watch and the opposition.
PHOTO ZOHRA BENSEMRA, REUTERS
Demonstrators lit fires in the streets of Dakar on February 9.
After a banned demonstration on Tuesday, civil society organizations announced that they had postponed it until Saturday.
It is also the day chosen by the families of people detained since 2021 to demonstrate separately to demand their “immediate release”. These families estimate the number of “political and opinion prisoners” at 1,500. The government assures that there are no political prisoners in Senegal.
“Disastrous consequences”
The United States and France called on President Sall to hold the election as quickly as possible. Rights activists have criticized the excessive use of force and restrictions on the right to protest and access to the internet.
The opposition suspects the presidential camp of settling with the timetable because it is sure of the defeat of its candidate, Prime Minister Amadou Ba. She suspects a maneuver to keep Mr. Sall Sall in power, even if the latter refutes it.
The president justified the postponement by the heated quarrels sparked by the pre-electoral process and his fear that a contested ballot would provoke new outbursts of violence after those of 2021 and 2023.
The presidency published a video on social networks in favor of an “open national dialogue” with a view to an “indisputable” election. The video shows the head of state with several opponents and a photo of him and Mr. Sonko greeting each other.
Pastef has so far rejected the offer of dialogue and insisted on respecting the timetable. Mr. Sonko was disqualified, but the Constitutional Council validated the candidacy of his second, Mr. Faye, who, although detained, established himself as a serious contender for victory.
Another leading candidate, Khalifa Sall, refuses to dialogue without reestablishing the calendar.
Fear of violence is widespread. Serigne Babacar Sy Mansour, Caliph of the Tidianes, one of the powerful Muslim brotherhoods, has, unusually, published a press release to urge the Head of State to “favor consultation” and the opposition to “accept any outstretched hand” .