Highlights: Ten days after President Macky Sall's announcement to postpone the presidential election, discontent within civil society has not weakened. A march planned for Tuesday, February 13, in Dakar was banned, but the civil society platform Aar Sunu Élections promises to mobilize again. The head of the Tidianes religious community, an important figure in the country, called for restraint and encouraged political actors to favor dialogue to deal with the “very tense” situation prevailing in Senegal. The opposition candidates approached this Council last week to establish whether or not the law establishing the postponement of the election respects the Constitution or not.

Senegal at the crossroads? Ten days after President Macky Sall's announcement to postpone the presidential election, discontent within civil society has not weakened, but it is struggling...

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Postponement of the election in Senegal: civil society mobilizes, calls for calm multiply

Senegal at the crossroads? Ten days after President Macky Sall's announcement to postpone the presidential election, discontent within civil society has not weakened, but it is struggling to express itself. A march planned for Tuesday, February 13, in Dakar was banned, but the civil society platform Aar Sunu Élections, at the origin of this gathering, promises to mobilize again.

A large flag of Senegal flies between two buildings in a street in Dakar, February 13, 2024 (illustrative image). © GUY PETERSON / AFP

By: RFI Follow

With our correspondent in Dakar,

Léa-Lisa Westerhoff

The Aar Sunu Elections citizen movement

promises a new silent march

this Saturday, February 17. With a new itinerary in Dakar, validated this time with the prefect of the capital who had banned the one planned for Tuesday February 13. A gathering to

express its refusal to postpone the presidential election

and also to ask for a return to the initial electoral calendar, as explained by researcher Elimane Kane, one of the founding members of this platform, which includes more than fifty organizations of civil society within it.

“

It is up to the President of the Republic to question himself, to realize that it is a great betrayal that he is committing, a great betrayal of the Senegalese people, and therefore to step back and withdraw all simply his texts that he had laid down, to allow the Republican calendar to resume its free course. The election can be held. We need to make up for a few dozen days lost on the electoral campaign. Or, if we do not manage to do everything until April 3, he will have to leave and allow the President of the National Assembly to continue until the new president is elected

,” judges the researcher. .

The researcher shares his desire to return to what was planned, but for the moment,

President Macky Sall

shows no sign or desire to reverse his decision to postpone the presidential election. He seems rather to be trying to ease the tension in recent days. Example with the private television Walf TV whose signal had been cut. The channel was finally restored on Monday February 12.

Many are also talking about appeasement measures that could be announced, including the possible release of political prisoners. But for the moment, nothing has been announced yet.

Increased calls for calm

At the same time, calls for calm and dialogue continue. On Tuesday, the head of the Tidianes religious community, an important figure in the country, called for restraint and encouraged political actors to favor dialogue to deal with

the “

very tense
”

situation prevailing in Senegal.

Also, it should be noted the declarations of two former presidents who preceded Macky Sall,

Abdou Diouf and Abdulaye Wade

, who also asked the Senegalese to resort to dialogue, and noted the postponement to December 15 of the presidential election.

However, the authorities have so far not authorized any gatherings to protest against this postponement. On Tuesday, the mobile internet was even cut off again, for the second time in eight days. A sign that the situation is still tense

in Senegal

Decision expected from the Constitutional Council

In this context, the Constitutional Council, the last institutional barrier for all those who oppose this postponement of the presidential election, must render a decision eagerly awaited by all Senegalese. The opposition candidates approached this Council last week to establish whether or not the law establishing the postponement of the presidential election until December 15 respects the Constitution or not.

Their argument: by postponing the election and maintaining Macky Sall in power beyond his mandate, which was to end on April 2, this decision violates the Constitution since the latter locks in and prohibits any revision of the number and duration of the mandate of the president. The Constitutional Council has one month to rule.

For his part, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken again urged

Senegal

to hold elections "

as quickly as possible

" after speaking to President Macky Sall the day before.

Read alsoPresidential election in Senegal: the debate on the competence of the Constitutional Council is underway

Postponement of the election in Senegal: civil society mobilizes, calls for calm multiply

Postponement of the election in Senegal: civil society mobilizes, calls for calm multiply

Increased calls for calm

Decision expected from the Constitutional Council

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