Highlights: Senegal: President Macky Sall announces an amnesty law in the midst of a presidential crisis. In Senegal, citizens are still waiting for a new date for the presidential election, which was initially scheduled for Sunday February 25. After the postponement of the vote, finally invalidated by the Constitutional Council, President Sall launched a national dialogue to find a way out of the crisis. The big announcement was the amnesty project which will be proposed on Wednesday, it will concern the facts relating to the political demonstrations occurring between 2021 and 2024.

In Senegal, citizens are still waiting for a new date for the presidential election, which was initially scheduled for Sunday February 25. After the postponement of the vote, finally invalidated…

Senegal: President Macky Sall announces an amnesty law in the midst of a presidential crisis

In Senegal, citizens are still waiting for a new date for the presidential election, which was initially scheduled for Sunday February 25.

After the postponement of the vote, finally invalidated by the Constitutional Council, President Macky Sall launched this Monday afternoon the national dialogue to find a way out of the crisis.

It was in Diamniadio, around thirty kilometers from Dakar, that the opening ceremony of the dialogue took place and that Macky Sall made the first announcements.

[Illustrative image] Senegalese President Macky Sall in Addis Ababa, February 19, 2023. AFP - AMANUEL SILESHI

By: RFI Follow

With our special correspondent Diamniadio,

Théa Ollivier

Around 7:30 p.m. (6:30 p.m. UT), President

Macky Sall

had just finished his opening speech.

The big announcement was the amnesty project which will be proposed on Wednesday, it will concern the facts relating to the political demonstrations occurring between 2021 and 2024. The goal is to pacify the Senegalese political space.

In his speech, the Head of State also specified that the objective of the dialogue was to find a voting date as soon as possible, that is to say before the rainy season, which begins between the months of June and July.

After private audiences which took place earlier in the morning, the actors present paraded to the podium.

Successful or unsuccessful presidential election candidates, political parties, civil society, religious and customary leaders, all defended their position regarding the resumption of the electoral process and the date of the vote.

But there are also major absentees: 17 of the 19 candidates selected by the Constitutional Council boycotted the dialogue, including Idrissa Seck, former prime minister of Macky Sall.

Sixteen of them filed an appeal to the constitutional council earlier in the morning to put pressure on the vote to be held before April 2, the date which marks the end of President Macky Sall's mandate.

Read alsoPresidential election in Senegal: “The time lost must be taken into account to set a new date”

Senegal: President Macky Sall announces an amnesty law in the midst of a presidential crisis

Senegal: President Macky Sall announces an amnesty law in the midst of a presidential crisis

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