In Senegal, the Constitutional Council invalidates the postponement of presidential elections

Published on: 02/15/2024 – 22:11

4 minutes

In Senegal, the Constitutional Council has given its verdict. The body ruled on Thursday, February 15, that the law adopted by Parliament to postpone the presidential election, which was initially scheduled for February 25, violates the constitution and must be repealed.

The Constitutional Council also annulled President Sale’s decree, which de facto changed the election calendar, just three weeks before the deadline.

The cancellation of the election process by President Macky Sall, followed by the postponement of the election until December 15 by the National Assembly, sent shockwaves through the country. The announcement angered many Senegalese, who condemned the violation of the constitution allowing the president to remain in power.

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On Friday, the country experienced its most intense day of protests against the postponement of the presidential election. Violence broke out in several parts of the country, in which three people were killed. New calls for demonstrations have been launched for Friday. A march organized by civil society is also planned on Saturday.

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The election was postponed after a parliamentary inquiry was launched to shed light on the conditions for eliminating certain candidates. At the core of this approach, supporters of Karim Wade – whose candidacy was invalidated because he had French nationality – said they suspected two Constitutional Council judges of corruption.

At the same time, another candidate, Rose Vardini, whose candidacy had been approved by the Constitutional Council, was held in police custody for “fraud and use of fraud in the composition and judgment”, also suspected of being a Franco-Senegalese with dual citizenship.

President Mackie Sale considered these elements serious enough to disrupt election planning. “These ambiguous situations can seriously damage the credibility of elections by creating the seeds of pre- and post-election litigation.”

In response, the opposition criticized the maneuvers aimed at torpedoing the presidential election and averting the defeat of the majority candidate, Amadou Ba, who fought in his own camp.

Liberation of opponents

Some detained protesters were released on Thursday, as the president faces pressure from key international partners, the opposition and civil society, which criticizes postponing the election.

“Most of my clients are released in cases set up for political considerations,” Mee Cheikh Kouresi Ba told AFP, confirming that the situation concerned several dozen detainees.

Aliou Sane, the coordinator of the civil movement “Yen a Mere”, Damil Sane, the mayor of a commune in Dakar, and several members of the former opposition party Pastef were on the list, provided to AFP by Mi Moussa Sir. Opposition figure, Osmane Sonko.

“International pressure is causing President Macki Sale to order the release,” Soleimani Djim, a member of the Collective of Families of Political Prisoners, commented to AFP, who also confirmed that the release was underway.

Osmane Sonko, one of the declared main candidates for the 2024 presidential election, as well as the head of the defunct Pestef party, Basirou Dimaye Faye, have been detained since 2023. There is currently no information on his possible release. .

Since the beginning of the week, the political world has been buzzing about the possibility of a cabinet discussion on the amnesty, but no announcement has been made.

President Mackie Sale’s announcement three weeks before the deadline to postpone presidential elections sparked outrage in a country known for its stability in a region hit by multiple coups.

Several hundred members of the opposition, more than a thousand according to some human rights organizations, have been arrested since 2021 and the power struggle between Ousmane Sonko and President Mackie Sale has been embroiled in several legal proceedings.

with AFP