the government approves an amnesty bill, without giving a date for the presidential election

The Senegalese head of state, Macky Sall, had his government adopt a general amnesty bill on Wednesday February 28, as a“appeasement” to the political crisis born from the postponement of the presidential election which was to be held on Sunday. This bill provides for amnesty for acts committed during the unrest experienced by Senegal for three years. This measure was proposed by Macky Sall in a “desire to appease the political space, reconcile and overcome”, according to the report of the Council of Ministers. The text must now be approved by the National Assembly, on an unspecified date.

Many of those who were waiting for more precise information from the Council of Ministers on the new date of the presidential election will have to wait. The president is due to receive on March 4 the conclusions of a “national dialogue” which was held Monday and Tuesday. He intends to ask the Constitutional Council for its opinion on these recommendations, which recommend the holding of the vote several weeks after the end of his mandate, and his maintenance in power until the installation of his successor.

A postponement of the vote beyond April 2, the end of Macky Sall’s mandate, and the temporary maintenance of the latter in his functions are likely to provoke the anger of the political and citizen front which was formed after the announcement of the postponement. These proposals were declared unacceptable by part of the political class and civil society. Seventeen approved candidates boycotted the “dialogue”. The anti-postponement front suspects Macky Sall of playing for time, either to advantage his camp because things would look bad in the presidential election, or to cling to power. The Senegalese president justified the postponement of the vote by the dissensions caused by the validation of the candidates, and the fear that a contested vote would cause a new outbreak of fever.