The presidential election scheduled for February 25 was postponed indefinitely by President Mackie Sale

This is the first time since 1963 that the country has postponed a presidential election by direct universal suffrage.

When will the next presidential election be held in Senegal? The Senegalese head of state, Macky Selle, announced on Saturday 3 February that he had rescinded his decree setting the date of the presidential election on 25 February. The decision follows the establishment of a parliamentary commission investigating two judges of the Constitutional Council, who are fighting against the integrity of the electoral process.

His statement came hours before the start of campaigning for the polls. Twenty candidates were to compete. “I will initiate an open national dialogue to create conditions for free, transparent and inclusive elections”announced the head of state during his address to the nation, without giving a date.

This is the first time since 1963 that a presidential election by direct universal suffrage has been postponed in Senegal. The head of state in a decree in late November fixed the presidential election on February 25. A month later, he promised to hand over power to the president-elect in early April. Repeat the commitment many times.

Opposition leaders were excluded from the vote

Mackie Sale, elected for seven years in 2012 and re-elected for five years in 2019, announced last summer that he was not a candidate for a new mandate. He appointed Prime Minister Amadou Ba, a presidential party official, as heir apparent.

The postponement of the vote has been announced against the background of the conflict between the National Assembly and the Constitutional Council, which recognized twenty candidates for the presidential election in January – a record. However, he Dozens of contenders were excluded. Among them, two opposition leaders were expelled: Usmane Sonko, jailed since July specifically for calling for rebellion, and Karim Wade, a minister and son of former president Abdoulaye Wade.

After the publication of the final list of candidates, Karim Wade’s supporters initiated the formation of a parliamentary commission to investigate the integrity of the two judges of the Constitutional Council. The National Assembly approved the formation of the commission on January 31 after heated debates. Members of the main camp voted for this commission in large numbers. Opponents of the outgoing president have expressed doubt over plans to postpone the presidential election, as those in power fear losing him.