A number of of the highest contenders to succeed Sall — most notably, well-liked opposition determine Ousmane Sonko — had been barred by the courts from working within the election. Protests over Sonko, who confronted a number of expenses that critics mentioned have been politically motivated, have been among the many deadliest in Senegal’s historical past, with greater than a dozen individuals killed throughout protests final June.
Sall’s announcement of his resolution to not search reelection has been adopted by a interval of relative calm. However the resolution to delay the vote — which was introduced simply hours earlier than official campaigning was scheduled to start out — may gas a brand new spherical of protests in Senegal, the place frustration with the political course of was already working excessive.
Senegal’s elections had been a uncommon vibrant spot for democracy activists within the area, the place a spate of army leaders have seized energy in coups lately, together with most lately in Niger and Gabon. Army juntas additionally wield energy in Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea.
Within the Ivory Coast and Togo, presidents are at present serving previous the 2 phrases initially mandated by their constitutions. (The president of the Ivory Coast mentioned there’d been a “reset,” whereas Togo’s legislature modified its regulation).
In Senegal on Friday, one of many different opposition events, representing Senegal’s former president’s son Karim Wade, who was barred from working as a result of he’s a dual-citizen, had requested that the election be delayed due to how the constitutional courtroom’s decision-making had performed out.
However a coalition representing ex-Dakar mayor pushed again, saying {that a} delay would symbolize an “institutional coup d’état” and create “unprecedented political instability.”
Sall mentioned throughout his tackle that he had canceled the related electoral regulation due to the electoral disputes. He promised to carry an nationwide dialogue to make sure that elections have been truthful, however provided no timeline.
