On Saturday, hundreds of demonstrators marched through Dakar, voicing their demand for President Macky Sall to expedite the electoral process, delayed by a decree earlier this month. The decree, which pushed the presidential election from its original date of February 25 to December 15, cited unresolved disputes about candidate eligibility as the reason for postponement. However, this move, ratified by the National Assembly, was met with a firm rebuke from the country’s Constitutional Council. On Thursday, the Council declared the delay unconstitutional and mandated the government to proceed with the elections without undue delay, albeit acknowledging the impracticality of the February 25 timeline.
President Sall, in response, assured that his administration would organize the elections “as soon as possible,” amidst a backdrop of growing local and international pressure for a swift resolution. This political impasse has plunged Senegal into a crisis, manifesting in deadly protests that have already claimed at least three lives, with security forces implicated in the violence.
The protests have been largely peaceful, with demonstrators calling out the president as a “dictator” and clamoring for the release of jailed opposition figures. This civil unrest underscores the tensions within a nation celebrated for its democratic stability but now teetering on the edge of political upheaval.
The U.S. Bureau of African Affairs has lauded the Constitutional Council’s decision as a step towards realigning Senegal with its democratic commitments, highlighting the international community’s keen interest in the country’s adherence to constitutional governance.
