In an unforeseen development, President Macky Sall of Senegal announced on Saturday the indefinite deferral of the presidential election set for February 25, casting a veil of uncertainty just moments before the commencement of official campaign activities.
Addressing the nation, President Sall revealed that he had signed a decree revoking the earlier decision to set the election date. This move came as lawmakers probed the integrity of two Constitutional Council judges implicated in the election process.
“I will begin an open national dialogue to bring together the conditions for a free, transparent and inclusive election,” Sall added, without giving a new date.
The postponement of the Senegalese presidential election, a first in the nation’s history, comes in the wake of a dispute between the National Assembly and the Constitutional Court over the rejection of candidates, adding a unique chapter to the country’s electoral narrative.
President Sall, in a decisive move through a November 2023 decree, officially scheduled the election for February 25, with a pool of 20 candidates. However, the exclusion of two prominent opposition figures added a layer of contention to the electoral landscape.
Sall had repeatedly said he would hand over power in early April to the winner of the vote.
After announcing he would not run for a third term as president, Sall designated Prime Minister Amadou Ba from his party as his would-be successor in Senegal.
The exclusion of dozens of candidates from the vote by the Constitutional Council encompasses notable figures such as Ousmane Sonko, the charismatic anti-system leader in detention since July 2023, and Karim Wade, the son of former president Abdoulaye Wade.
Advocates for Wade within the National Assembly have demanded a parliamentary investigation into the impartiality of two judges on the Constitutional Court. The Assembly endorsed the motion on January 31, with noteworthy support from members of Sall’s party.
The disqualification of Wade, attributed to alleged French citizenship, drew sharp condemnation from him, labeling the decision as “scandalous.”
Concurrently, Rose Wardini, one of just two women among the endorsed candidates, was arrested on Friday on allegations of hiding her French citizenship, according to sources within the judiciary.