The president of Senegal, Macky Sall, has said he will exit the presidential seat when his term is completed on April 2 despite the fact that his administration is yet to declare a new date for the next presidential election.
He added, however, that it was unlikely the election of a new president will be completed before then.
He announced his decision following the Constitutional Council’s verdict last week, which stated that the 10-month deferral of the election was illegal. Originally, the election was to be held on February 25.
- “April 2, 2024, will be the end of my term at the head of the country, the end of my binding relationship with the Senegalese people as president of the republic. I would like this debate to be clearly settled.
- “If we find consensus, I will issue the decree immediately to set the date; if consensus is not found, I will refer the matter to the Constitutional Council.
- “What is certain is that there will be no void. We cannot leave a country without a president.”
- “I want to make the dichotomy clearly between the election and the end of the mandate,” he said, adding that he will follow the guidance of the Constitutional Council on the matter.
However, Sall mentioned that he cannot issue an order for the election to occur before engaging in a national dialogue.
He stated that the dialogue would also include candidates who had not received the Constitutional Council’s approval.
Backstory
Earlier last week, the Supreme Court of Senegal ruled that the bid to postpone the presidential election put forward by the President is both illegal and unconstitutional.
- The highest court declared parliament’s enactment of a law to postpone the vote and prolong Sall’s tenure by a minimum of 10 months as unlawful.
- The ruling was given amid political tension in the country.
- Senegal parliament had initially adopted a law extending President Macky Sall’s tenure from February to December, effectively postponing the presidential election from February 25 to December 15.
- As a result, protests from opposition leaders have erupted in the country.
- Meanwhile, top opposition politicians and dissenting lawmakers were also arrested and accused of fueling the political crisis.
