President Sall postpones presidential polls in Senegal indefinitely

DAKAR – Senegal’s President, Macky Sall, has indefinitely postponed the presidential election that was scheduled to take place on February 25.

Speaking in a televised address to the nation on Saturday, the president announced he had cancelled the relevant electoral law, citing a dispute over the candidate list.

Sall said he signed a decree abolishing a November, 2023 measure that had set the original election date, the Aljezeera reported.

“I will initiate an open national dialogue to bring together the conditions for a free, transparent and inclusive election in a peaceful and reconciled Senegal,” he said, without giving a new date.

The announcement comes after the Constitutional Council last month excluded some prominent opposition members from the list of candidates.

The decision brought the integrity of the election process into question and fuelled growing discontent, with excluded candidates saying the rules for candidacy were not applied fairly, something the authorities have denied.

“These troubled conditions could seriously undermine the credibility of the ballot by sowing the seeds of pre- and post-electoral disputes,” Sall said, explaining why he delayed the vote.

The opposition Senegalese Democratic Party (PDS), whose candidate Karim Wade was among those excluded from running in the election, had earlier submitted a formal request to postpone the vote.

WARNING! All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express permission from ZAMBIA MONITOR.