The conclusions of a “national dialogue” that recommended the organization of presidential elections in Senegal on June 2, two months after the end of President Macky Sall's term in office, were officially handed over to the head of state on Monday, triggering the anger of the “opposition” out of. She demands that the vote be organized before April 2, the expiration date of the presidential mandate.
Published on: March 4, 2024 – 9:18 p.m
4 mins
Senegalese President Macky Sall took another step in setting a date for the presidential election by receiving a report on Monday March 4th recommending that the vote be held on June 2nd, much to the dismay of the opposition months after his mandate expired.
The Senegalese were scheduled to go to the polls on February 25th. But three weeks before the vote, the head of state ordered the vote postponed, citing the deep divisions caused by the confirmation of the candidacies and the risk of new violence after the deadly elections of 2021 and 2023.
This move, denounced by the opposition as a “constitutional coup,” sparked turmoil in public opinion and demonstrations in which four people died. The Constitutional Council has now overthrown Macky Sall and the country, mired in uncertainty, is waiting for a new election date.
On Monday, the president officially received the recommendations of a “national dialogue” he organized a week ago to emerge from the crisis. Almost the entire opposition, which is loudly demanding a new election before April 2, boycotted the meeting.
The recommendations of this meeting are already known: the election would take place on June 2nd and Macky Sall would remain in office until the inauguration of Senegal's fifth president.
The head of state, elected in 2012 and re-elected in 2019, but not running in 2024, “intends to contact the Constitutional Council to seek its opinion on the issues of the election date and after April 2,” according to the Presidential Office. Because the head of state has repeatedly stated that he will leave on April 2nd.
The prospect of a postponement of the vote until June 2nd and a presidential resignation on April 2nd opens the way to an unprecedented situation and a legal vacuum; such a scenario is not foreseen in the Constitution.
The opposition is calling for the vote to be organized more quickly
In vetoing the postponement on February 15, the Council wrote that “the presidential mandate (…) cannot be extended” and that “the election date cannot be postponed beyond the duration of the mandate.” The participants in the “national dialogue” cite Article 36 of the Constitution, according to which the president “shall remain in office until his successor is installed.”
A collective of 16 opposition candidates is calling for the vote to be organized more quickly before the mandate expires.
A “resistance front”, an alliance of political opposition and civil society organizations formed on Thursday, mobilized a few hundred supporters in Dakar on Saturday and wants to keep up the pressure with rallies announced for Wednesday and Saturday. “We want an election before April 2 with the 19 candidates selected by the Constitutional Council and for Senegalese democracy to continue to shine,” Assane Camara, a 27-year-old trader, said on Saturday.
Another point of contention: an amnesty law on the facts related to political demonstrations between 2021 and 2024 that left dozens dead and caused significant material damage, such as the looting of Dakar University. The project, initiated by President Macky Sall in the “spirit of reconciliation,” must now be submitted to the National Assembly for adoption, perhaps as early as this week.
But it sparks an outcry from the opposition and fails to achieve unanimity within the presidential majority. The opposition denounces a “denial of justice” and sees it as a maneuver to ensure impunity for those responsible for the repression, including government officials.
In a column published Friday, more than 200 scientists described the project as “an invitation to amnesia.” “Erasing the crimes of the past would amount to disrespecting the memory of the victims and weakening the foundations of the rule of law,” the signatories write.
In a press release published on Monday, Amnesty International sees the project as an “affront to the families of the victims” and a “disturbing premium for impunity.” The organization calls for investigations to be carried out “into the use of force by the defense and security forces during the demonstrations”.
#Senegal – Amnesty law
The amnesty draft submitted to Parliament is an affront to the families of the victims of the violence between March 2021 and February 2024.
It is also a troubling premium for impunity
We explain why this is the case here #Thread
— Amnesty Senegal (@AmnestySenegal) March 4, 2024
With AFP
