Senegal’s President Indefinitely Postponed the Presidential Election
Macky Sall, the president of Senegal, on Saturday, addressed the nation on television, announcing that he postponed the upcoming presidential election, which was supposed to take place on the 25th of February, 2024.
Sall said he signed a decree abolishing the November 2023 measure that had set the original election date.
According to him, he canceled the relevant electorate law, citing a dispute over the candidate’s lists.
Macky ensures that he will bring together the candidates for a free, transparent, and fair election in peace and reunite Senegal without setting a new date, citing that he is trying to promote democracy, not to extend his term.
Hours before the start of campaigns on Saturday, the announcement came after the Constitution Council last month and excluded some prominent opposition members from the list.
This decision brought the integrity of the election process into question and discontent after the excluded candidates said the rules for candidates were not fairly done.
According to research, the postponement spread anger in the opposition as they came out to protest for their voice to be stern, saying this was injustice and snatching the chance to make their own decision as citizens.
An election is a formal decision-making process by which citizens choose a candidate or political party to represent them in government. Elections can be held at various levels, such as municipal, regional, or national, and can determine the composition and leadership of a government for a specific period.
In Senegal,
The arrest of opposition leader Ousmane Sonko in Senegal has caused political tension. Many opposition supporters believe that his arrest was politically motivated and an attempt to silence dissent.
The Senegalese political system has faced criticism for its lack of transparency and accountability, with allegations of corruption and human rights abuses being common.
The arrest of Ousmane Sonko has further fueled these concerns and raised questions about the state of democracy in Senegal. It remains to be seen how the political system will respond to these challenges and whether there will be any meaningful reforms to address the underlying issues.
