The Senegalese street witnessed protests and riots in response to the postponement of presidential elections (Reuters)

After 60 years of democratic practice and peaceful exchange of power between elected leaders, outgoing Senegalese President Macky Sall surprised his citizens and the world by issuing a decree postponing the presidential elections that were scheduled for February 25.

The Senegalese Parliament later extended President Sall's term by 10 months, after he was scheduled to leave power next April.

The announcement of postponing the elections, which came a few hours before the start of the election campaigns, sparked a wave of protests at home, and the dissatisfaction of many countries and organizations interested in democracy and political pluralism in Africa.

Three years ago, Senegal experienced a premature electoral crisis that began with field confrontations that resulted in a number of deaths and many material losses, and ended with a political deadlock that opened the doors to all possibilities.

Senegalese President Macky Sall's term ends next April, but he is trying to retain power until the end of the year (French)

The roots of the crisis

The political crisis in Senegal is due to the results of the constitutional amendments approved in 2016, according to which the presidential term was reduced to only two terms.

The constitutional amendments came after President Macky Sall entered his first term, which began in 2012.

The amended Senegalese constitution stipulated that “no one can rule the country for more than two consecutive terms,” but President Sall said in 2021 that he intends to run for a third term, considering that this article does not apply to him as his first term was before the constitutional reforms.

In response to the president's intention to run for a third term and to interpret the constitution in his favor, the opposition political forces, led by the head of the "Pasteif" party, called on Ousmane Sonko to take to the streets to stand up to Sall's ambitions to continue ruling.

The country witnessed violent demonstrations at that time, including Dakar, Thiès, and major cities in Senegal, and a number of people were killed and wounded. Then the diplomacy of the Sufi sheikhdom and the scholars’ bodies intervened and played a role in ending them, so President Sall announced his abandonment of his ambition for a third term.

However, the crisis escalated again when the Constitutional Council in Senegal issued the final list, which included 20 presidential candidates, not including Karim Wade, the leader of the Senegalese Democratic Party and the son of former President Abdoulaye Wade, under the pretext that he has dual citizenship, while the list included a candidate with dual citizenship, namely Visit me and tell me

On February 1, representatives from the Senegalese Democratic Party demanded the formation of a parliamentary committee to investigate two members of the Constitutional Council on charges of taking bribes in order to deport Karim Wade.

In this context, the majority voted on the request of the parliamentary bloc affiliated with Karim Wade to form an investigation committee with two judges from the Constitutional Council and to postpone the presidential elections, but the presidency of the Council refused to deal with the parliamentary committee on the pretext that Parliament is a legislative body, not a judicial body, and cannot accuse or prosecute the highest judicial body. To monitor laws.

In conjunction with this crisis, President Sall - whose majority is witnessing disagreements - announced on February 3rd the postponement of the elections through a presidential decree.

Riot police in a street in the Senegalese capital, Dakar (French)

Lawlessness

In an interview with Al Jazeera Net, legal expert Sidi Mokhtar Ould Sidi said that the principles of the Senegalese constitution and the regulating laws do not accept postponing the elections for these reasons, because the legal deadlines regulating the elections are strict deadlines, and the decree signed by the president contradicts the explicit constitutional and legislative texts, and could expose him to accountability after the exit. From power, because violating the constitution and disrupting it is a criminal crime.

Ould Sidi added that Parliament also cannot interfere in this field, because elections are regulated by a categorical law, and Parliament does not interfere in laws except after approval and tribal oversight by the Constitutional Council.

The legal expert believes that making laws in a manner that violates their principles is one of the reasons for criminal liability that exposes the representative to accountability.

In the context of ensuring democratic and legal gains, a number of academics and lawyers in Senegal signed a petition demanding that the president reverse his decision and adhere to laws that no president in the history of Senegal has ever violated.

In the same context, the European Union called for holding elections as soon as possible and avoiding the ambiguity that mars the political process.

The US State Department issued a statement saying that Parliament's vote to postpone the elections cannot be legitimate, given the circumstances in which the voting process took place.

In its statement, the United States urged the Senegalese government to proceed with the presidential elections in accordance with the constitution and electoral laws.

As for the ECOWAS organization, which Macky Sall has long used as a platform to demand democracy in African countries witnessing coups, it expressed its regret at the “deviation from the principles of democracy” that Dakar is going through, and called for an expedited exit from the state of political impasse that leads to chaos.

Ousmane Sonko, the opposition leader in Senegal, is currently in prison and is described as a revolutionary politician and an inspiration to the youth (French)

Beyond postponement

According to the French magazine Jeune Afrique, President Sall's political circle convinced him of the necessity of postponing the presidential elections until they could find an heir who would be able to gather the political spectrum around him.

The magazine added that the president wants to know how the Constitutional Council was able to approve the nomination of Basiro Diomai Faye (Osman Sonko's replacement), who is supported by the youth and trade union movements.

Media reports spoke of a crisis within the regime's camp, as its positions varied regarding President Amadou Bah's candidate.

Local media reports also spoke of the president's conviction that his candidate would not be able to decide the presidential race, and he was convinced of the necessity of coordination with Karim Wade, who is close to France and has great acceptance within the circles of the deep state.

Bah is facing two dissident candidates from the ruling regime, namely former Prime Minister Mohamed Abdallah Dion and former Interior Minister Ali Ngoy Ndiaye.

In conjunction with President Sall's announcement of postponing the elections, Minister Secretary-General of the Government Abdellatif Coulibaly announced his resignation from his position on February 3rd, which means that the differences of the ruling majority have become public.

After the press in Senegal reported disagreements between the president and his candidate, Amadou Bah, the latter gave an interview to Jeune Afrique newspaper on February 9 in which he explained his position on the current events, and said, “The only problem I have with President Sall is that there is no problem between us.” .

In an interview with Al Jazeera Net, journalist and political analyst Hussein Ould Hammoud said that reading the scenes of the events in Senegal indicates an attempt to further arrange the situation within the regime for the sake of a political transition in their favor.

Senegalese opposition and presidential candidate Anta Babacar Njoum (French)

The consequences of the crisis

Although Senegal was a model in West Africa and has accumulated democratic values, the crisis of postponing the elections makes all possibilities possible.

Ould Hammoud says that the decision to postpone the elections, which seemed to be the option of the political stage adopted by the ruling majority, may spark conflict in the street and lead to something worse, especially with the lack of trust between the political parties that have previously experienced difficult conflicts that led to discouraging the current president from running for a term. Third.

Ould Hammoud added that President Sall is unable to continue politically, and if he tries to impose his decisions by force, this may constitute a turning point that may lead to the army intervening and resolving matters.

He believes that the most likely scenario is that the elections will be held at a date sooner than the date set by President Macky Sall next December, and that this would be a solution that gives a little margin for political maneuvering for the regime while alleviating the opposition’s fears.

Source: Al Jazeera