Senegal plunged into uncertainty. A few hours before the opening of the campaign of the 20 candidates vying for the presidential election on February 25, Head of State Macky Sall announced, during a televised address on Saturday February 3, the indefinite postponement of the vote.

“Our country has been confronted for several days with a dispute between the National Assembly and the Constitutional Council, in open conflict against the backdrop of an alleged case of corruption of judges,” he explained.

Believing that Senegal cannot “afford a new crisis” after the episodes of violence in March 2021 and June 2023, the president announced the establishment of a “national dialogue” for “a free, transparent and inclusive election” , reaffirming his commitment not to run for office.

An announcement which had the effect of a bomb among the ranks of the opposition who accuse the head of state of wanting to stay in power.

Judges suspected of corruption

This political crisis has its origins in the exclusion of Karim Wade's candidacy for the presidential election. The candidate was excluded from the race because he still held French nationality when he submitted his application. According to the Constitution, only Senegalese and only Senegalese candidates can compete.

In response, his party called for a parliamentary investigation to shed light on the conditions for eliminating candidates. Karim Wade's supporters say they suspect two judges of the Constitutional Council of having "dubious connections with certain candidates", notably Amadou Ba, Prime Minister and designated heir of Macky Sall.

Last Thursday, MPs largely approved the creation of this parliamentary commission of inquiry. At the same time, another candidate, Rose Wardini, whose candidacy was validated by the Constitutional Council, was placed in police custody for "forgery and use of forgery and fraud in judgment", suspected of also having dual French nationality. -Senegalese.

02:22

Political maneuvering?

For President Macky Sall, these elements are serious enough to interrupt the holding of the election. “These murky conditions could seriously harm the credibility of the election by creating the seeds of pre- and post-electoral litigation.”

But this decision raises many questions in Senegal, in particular because the deputies of the ruling party themselves voted in favor of the creation of this parliamentary commission of inquiry. While they claim to want to cleanse the honor of their candidate Amadou Ba, the opposition criticizes a maneuver intended to torpedo the presidential election and avoid the defeat of the majority candidate.

“We have never seen a postponed presidential election in Senegal, that’s Macky Sall’s record,” criticized former Prime Minister Aminata Touré. “We are ready to go to the election, he knows very well that his candidate will be beaten in the first round,” insisted the former ally of Macky Sall, herself excluded from the presidential race by the Constitutional Council.

Contested in his own camp, Prime Minister Amadou Ba faces two dissident candidacies: those of the former Minister of the Interior, Aly Ngouille Ndiaye, and the former Prime Minister Mahammed Boun Abdallah Dionne, one time director of office of the head of state.

But in general opinion, the main threat comes above all from Bassirou Diomaye Faye, the main opposition candidate, chosen by Ousmane Sonko to replace him in the presidential election, following the invalidation of his candidacy.

Reacting to the decision to interrupt the election, Amadou Ba, lawyer and supporter of Bassirou Diomaye Faye, castigated arguments of "incredible lightness" indicating that the commission of inquiry was only set up on " mere suspicion of corruption.

Seydou Gaye, the spokesperson for the ruling APR party, on the contrary evokes "a very heavy pre-electoral dispute", affirming that the Constitutional Council must be "above all suspicion". The “transparency and sincerity” of the vote are the priorities of Macky Sall, who cannot, according to him, be “suspected of wanting to keep power, of remaining there or of being a candidate”.

Uncertain territory

Since the president's announcement, criticism has been coming, well beyond his political adversaries. The ad hoc facilitation committee, made up of several civil society organizations, condemned the postponement of the election, criticizing “a unilateral and abrupt halt to the electoral process”.

The Ad hoc Facilitation Committee notes a serious institutional rupture that Senegal has never experienced since its independence and Condemns the postponement of the presidential election scheduled for Sunday February 25, 2024.



Press release Signed by Dean Alioune Tine et Cie… pic .twitter.com/nooUyiLT6G

— Ayoba FAYE (@autrecomoi) February 3, 2024

During his speech, the president gave no indication as to the future electoral calendar, calling for an "open national dialogue to create the conditions for a free, transparent and inclusive election." The office of the National Assembly adopted a bill on Saturday, at the initiative of Karim Wade's coalition, for a "deferral of maximum six months". A delay which could lead President Macky Sall to remain in power beyond the end of his second term which is due to end on April 2.

In their press release, the members of the ad hoc committee stressed the importance of “respecting the provisions of the Constitution in relation to the duration of the mandate of the President of the Republic”.  

Others question the legality of Macky Sall's decision which repealed the presidential election by decree. “Respecting the separation of powers, I will not be able to intervene in the conflict between the legislative power and the judicial power,” affirmed the president, thus justifying the interruption of the electoral process.

But for Babacar Gueye, professor of constitutional law at Cheikh-Anta-Diop University in Dakar, this decision "is not based on any valid legal basis." The president is guarantor of the institutions and the opening of the parliamentary investigation into alleged cases of corruption within the Constitutional Council shows precisely that they "work well", he estimated on RFI.

Denouncing a "constitutional coup d'état", several presidential candidates announced the start of their campaigns on February 4, in accordance with the initial schedule, despite the interruption of the electoral process.

The Awalé party and the Abdourahmane2024 Coalition denounce the constitutional coup orchestrated by Macky Sall and call on all Senegalese to jointly start the electoral campaign with all the presidential candidates at 3 p.m. at the Saint Lazare roundabout. pic.twitter.com/eLBdymkQYK

— Dr El Hadji Abdourahmane DIOUF (@drelhadjiAdiouf) February 4, 2024

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