President Macky Sall of Senegal announced on Thursday that his term as head of state of the West African country will expire on April 2. But he also said it was doubtful that the new president would be elected before then. Sall’s statement may allay concerns that he intended to prolong his reign in the nation, a worry that had fueled political unrest and occasionally violent protests in what is thought to be one of the stable democracies in the area. His statement followed the country’s highest election body, the Constitutional Council, ruling last week that a 10-month vote deferral was illegal. The original date of the election was set for February 25.
“My tenure as president of the republic will come to an end on April 2, 2024, along with my legally binding relationship with the Senegalese people. I want this argument to be conclusively resolved “Sall stated in a national television interview.
But Sall stated that he cannot order the election to be held before a national conversation.
According to him, the conversation, which will involve politicians, civil society organizations, and candidates, is scheduled to start on Monday and end by Tuesday.
He said that applicants not accepted by the Constitutional Council would also be welcomed to participate in the discussion.
Notable opposition personalities, such as Karim and the fiery politician Ousmane Sonko, who is imprisoned.
Sall declared, “If there is agreement, I will issue the decree right away to determine the date; if not, I will refer the case to the Constitutional Council.”
But, he noted that he did not believe the procedure would be completed by April 2.
Should the procedure take longer than that, he stated: “There won’t be a void, that much is clear. A nation cannot be abandoned without a president.”
He declared, “I want to make the contradiction between the election and the end of the mandate apparent,” and he indicated he would abide by the Constitutional Council’s advice in this regard.
When asked about Bassirou Diomaye Faye, the opposition candidate who has been detained since April, Sall responded that he would benefit from an interim release so that he could take part in the conversation.
Sall pledged last week, following the crisis that sparked violent street protests and warnings of authoritarian overreach, to comply with the Constitutional Council’s request for the vote to be convened as soon as feasible.
(Reuters)
