“Senegal remains a state of law because the Constitutional Council has the last word,” says a former French ambassador to the country

Nicolas Normand, former French ambassador to Senegal from 2010 to 2013, was a guest of franceinfo on February 18.

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The silhouette of a police officer in front of a fountain decorated with the motif of the Senegalese national flag, in Dakar, Senegal, February 14, 2024. (JEROME FAVRE / MAXPPP)

Senegal is facing its future. Will it remain an example of democracy in Africa? This is one of the questions that arises today as civil society once again demonstrated on Saturday February 17 to ask President Macky Sall to hold elections that he had postponed. A postponement invalidated by the Constitutional Council. “The Constitutional Council mentioned elections to be held ‘as soon as possible’ which still opens up a period of uncertaintydeclares Nicolas Normand, former French ambassador to Senegal from 2010 to 2013.

The former ambassador believes that “the Senegal remains a rule of law because the Constitutional Council has the last word and because it is not controlled by the president. He even disavowed it twice and especially very clearly the second time. And it’s quite rare in Africa to see such an important Constitutional Council.”


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