Opposition candidates in Senegal are accusing the authorities of delaying the setting of a new date for the presidential election. This comes after a court ruled that a 10-month postponement of the election was unlawful. President Macky Sall has promised to abide by the Constitutional Council’s request for the vote to be scheduled as soon as possible.
The court blocked Sall’s parliament-backed decree to postpone the election, originally scheduled for Feb. 25. The crisis triggered violent street protests and warnings of authoritarian overreach in Senegal.
However, a new date has yet to be set, causing concern among opposition candidates who are pushing for the election to take place before Sall’s mandate ends on April 2. In a joint statement, 16 of the 19 presidential contenders expressed dissatisfaction with the slow process of enacting the council’s ruling.
They accused Sall of being unwilling to launch a process that would lead to a change of power. The presidency did not respond to a request for comment on the matter.
Justice Minister Aïssata Tall Sall noted in a press conference on Tuesday that the end of Sall’s mandate on April 2 was up for debate. She expressed uncertainty about whether the presidential election will happen before April 2 and said it was a topic of debate among lawyers and constitutional experts.
Senegal had never previously delayed a presidential vote, and many in the opposition saw the attempted postponement as an effort by the president to extend his mandate via an “institutional coup.” Sall, who is not standing for re-election, has stated that the postponement was necessary due to a dispute over the candidate list and alleged corruption within the Constitutional Council.
The Constitutional Council published an amended list of 19 presidential candidates on Tuesday with minimal changes from the original list. Only one candidate was removed because she had withdrawn her application.
(Reporting by Ngouda Dione and Portia Crowe; Writing by Sofia Christensen; Editing by Crystal Chesters)
