Senegal: the presidential majority divided after the postponement of the presidential election
Two days after the postponement of the presidential election to December 15, 2024 adopted by Parliament, divisions are widening within the Senegalese political class between supporters and opponents of a postponement of this election. Divisions that are found even in the camp of power. After the resignation on Saturday evening of the secretary general of the government, it is the turn of others to mark their disapproval.
Awa Marie Coll Seck, then Minister of Health, during a press conference. AFP - SEYLLOU
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With our correspondent in Dakar,
Léa-Lisa Westerhoff
It was through the publication of her resignation letter addressed to
Macky Sall
that Awa Marie Coll Seck, Minister of State and president of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, expressed her disagreement with the president. “
Senegal
deserves to see its Republican calendar respected
,” writes the former Minister of Health in this letter, even if “
our
electoral process remains to be perfected
.”
A way of calling into question the argument used by President Macky Sall who speaks of a serious institutional crisis due to too many dysfunctions in the electoral process and which therefore merits the elections being postponed.
Read alsoSenegal: the Assembly votes to postpone the presidential election after the forced evacuation of opposition deputies
Another dissonant voice was heard: that of Zahra Iyane Thiam, the director of the Senegalese export promotion agency who nevertheless fought alongside the President of the Republic Macky Sall during his election in 2012. Tuesday , she broke with her camp. “
I consider that the act taken today (the postponement of the presidential election, Editor’s note)
” is “
a flagrant violation of our fundamental charter
”. "
Such a waste !
», she wrote again on
.
Finally, Monday evening, a member of parliament voted against the bill to postpone the presidential election. This is a parliamentarian from the ruling coalition, Benno Bokk Yakaar. So many signs which show that the postponement of the vote is far from unanimous and even risks dividing the majority camp a little more.
On the other hand, others congratulated the postponement of the vote, such as the Senegalese Democratic Party (PDS). For Mamadou Lamine Thiam, president of the PDS parliamentary group, it was not possible to do otherwise given the numerous irregularities which marked the candidate selection process. According to him, we should even go further and establish a new Constitutional Council.
These failures were likely to compromise the integrity, democracy and inclusiveness of the election which would have led the country into chaos if it had been maintained.
00:56
Mamadou Lamine Thiam, president of the PDS parliamentary group
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