Senegal: Postponement of Presidential Polls

Sudan Events – Sumaya Sayed

The decision to postpone the Presidential elections in Senegal was well received by the former ruling Democratic Party whose presidential candidate is Karim Wade
Wade’s supporters were seen celebrating the postponement of the February 25 presidential election by President Macky Sall.
The decision follows, among other things, the dispute between their candidate and the Constitutional Council, accused of corruption by the former ruling party.
Several opposition figures rejected President Macky Sall’s decision to postpone the election, with at least two of the 20 presidential candidates saying they would proceed with their campaign scheduled to kick off on Sunday.
Sall’s tenure is scheduled to end on April 2. Senegal’s electoral code requires 80 days’ notice of an election, meaning the earliest a new vote could take place is the last week of April.
Former mayor of the capital of Dakar Khalifa Sall also asked the citizens to “come together to save our democracy” while another opposition candidate, Déthié Fall, said, “We will start our campaign and we call on all candidates to do the same.”
There were no signs of unrest in Dakar on Sunday.
The U.S. Department of State noted Senegal’s “strong tradition of democracy and peaceful transitions of power” in a post on X, which urged “all participants in (the) electoral process to engage peacefully to swiftly set a new date and the conditions for a timely, free and fair election.”
In postponing the election, Sall cited a dispute between the judiciary and federal lawmakers over the disqualification process and the reported dual nationality of some qualified candidates.
Wade had accused two judges of corruption in the disqualification process and said that postponing the vote would “make it possible to repair the damage suffered” by those disqualified.