The embattled President of Senegal, Macky Sall has announced that he will leave office when his term comes to an end on April 2, even as tensions remain over an election date.
His recent decision to delay the vote, originally scheduled for Sunday, to mid-December sparked deadly protests.
In a televised interview, Mr Sall said an election date would now be decided in political talks to start on Monday.
But the opposition has refused to take part in the proposed dialogue dashing hopes of resolving the turmoil.
Sixteen of the 19 presidential hopefuls have said they will not be turning up for what the president has termed a “national dialogue”. A number of civil society organisations have also declined to take part in the exercise.
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Mr Sall has been under pressure to announce a new date since Senegal’s highest court declared last week that the postponement of the poll was illegal.
His original decree to delay the vote received strong condemnation from the international community.
Many feared the postponement would lead to President Sall’s remaining leader of the country indefinitely in a region plagued by coups and military governments.
Speaking on national television on Thursday evening, Mr Sall said he felt there was not enough time to vote in a new president by the time he steps down on 2 April. He said that the dialogue forum would decide what should happen if this was the case.
Africa Today News, New York recalls that Sall had earlier pledged to expedite the long-awaited election to select his heir, following a constitutional rebuke of his bid to postpone the process.
Sall, having served two terms, saw his plans thwarted by the Constitutional Council on Thursday, which nullified his attempt to reschedule the election for December.
Furthermore, the Constitutional Council invalidated the contentious legislation passed by parliament in support of the president’s decree, a step towards rebuilding Senegal’s reputation as a beacon of democracy in West Africa.
Following his announcement to postpone the elections two weeks ago, just hours before the commencement of campaigns, President Sall has come under increasing pressure to overturn his decision.