Highlights: Senegal ends the commission of inquiry into Karim Wade's departure from the presidential election. The commission emphasizes that a judicial investigation has been opened, which automatically puts an end to its mission, according to the Assembly's regulations. The debate around this commission is one of the starting points for the postponement of the election which has been agitating the country for two weeks. It is now up to the courts to carry out the investigation, not the deputies, says RFI's Charlotte Idrac.

Senegal ends the commission of inquiry into Karim Wade's departure from the presidential election

Senegal has put an end to the recent parliamentary commission of inquiry created to clarify the invalidation of Karim Wade's candidacy for the presidential election initially scheduled for February 25. In a press release, the commission emphasizes that a judicial investigation has been opened, which automatically puts an end to its mission, according to the Assembly's regulations. The debate around this commission is one of the starting points for the postponement of the election which has been agitating the country for two weeks.

The National Assembly of Senegal (archive photo). Wikimedia

By: RFI Follow

With our correspondent in Dakar,

Charlotte Idrac

Barely created, it is officially buried:

the parliamentary commission was set up on January 31

at the request of the PDS, the party of Karim Wade. Objective: “

to clarify

” the process of selecting

candidates for the presidential election on February 25

Karim Wade's supporters reported “

suspicions of corruption

” from two judges of the Constitutional Council to dismiss him, suspicions which also targeted Prime Minister Amadou Ba.

But one of the judges listed, Cheikh Ndiaye, filed a complaint, notably for defamation and contempt of court. In the process, the prosecutor opened a judicial investigation and the Minister of Justice therefore referred the matter to the Assembly.

This is because according to its internal regulations, the mission of a parliamentary commission of inquiry “

ends upon the opening of a judicial investigation relating to the facts which motivated its creation

”.

It is this debate around the credibility of the Constitutional Council which notably justified the postponement of the election by President Macky Sall, and opened an unprecedented institutional and political crisis. It is now up to the courts to carry out the investigation, not the deputies.

Read alsoPresidential election in Senegal: four things to remember about the decision of the Constitutional Council

Senegal ends the commission of inquiry into Karim Wade's departure from the presidential election

Senegal ends the commission of inquiry into Karim Wade's departure from the presidential election

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