first clashes break out in Dakar after an opposition call to demonstrate

The police used tear gas to disperse hundreds of people who came to demonstrate against the postponement of the presidential election, before being stoned.

She rejects the announcement of outgoing President Macky Sall. In Senegal, the opposition called for demonstrations on Sunday February 4 against the decision of the Senegalese leader to postpone indefinitely the presidential election scheduled for February 25. This postponement caused an outcry, as well as strong concern abroad.

Men and women of all ages, waving Senegal flags or wearing the jersey of the national football team, converged at the beginning of the afternoon towards a roundabout on one of the main roads of the capital. The gendarmes, deployed in large numbers, unleashed heavy fire with tear gas to disperse them.

The police then entered the adjacent neighborhoods on foot or in pickup trucks in pursuit of the fleeing demonstrators. They then suffered numerous stone throws. Young people chanting “Macky Sall dictator!” also undertook to erect roadblocks with makeshift means.

A campaign despite the postponement?

Security forces fired tear gas canisters at the numerous supporters of Khalifa Sall, who had gathered near their candidate’s headquarters. Several women felt unwell from the effects of the gas.

According to opposition MP Guy Marius Sagna, opponent and former Prime Minister Aminata Touré, another fierce opponent of the postponement, was arrested during one of the rallies. One of the presidential candidates, Daouda Ndiaye, posted a message on Facebook in which he claims to have been “brutalized” by the police and reports that some of his collaborators were “arrested”.

Macky Sall announced on Saturday, a few hours before the official opening of the campaign, to repeal the decree setting the presidential election for February 25. This is the first time since 1963 that a presidential election by direct universal suffrage has been postponed in Senegal. Several opposition candidates announced to the press their decision to ignore President Sall’s decision and maintain the launch of their campaign on Sunday.