Senegal sets March 24 as new date for delayed presidential election

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Senegalese President Macky Sall has scheduled a delayed presidential election for March 24, the government said on Wednesday, after a top court ruled that a proposal to hold the vote after his mandate expires on April 2 was unconstitutional.

Issued on: 06/03/2024 – 22:10

1 min

Senegal’s embattled President Macky Sall on February 26, 2024, opened talks in Diamniadio, near Dakar, in an attempt to reach agreement on the date of the presidential election. © Seyllou, AFP

The announcement caps a dramatic evening that saw Sall dissolve the government and replace Prime Minister Amadou Ba with Interior Minister Sidiki Kaba so that Ba, the ruling coalition’s presidential candidate, can focus on his electoral campaign, the presidency said.

Earlier the Constitutional Council ruled that a proposal from a national dialogue commission for the vote to be held on June 2 was not in line with the constitution.

“The President of the Republic informed the Council of Ministers that the date of the presidential election had been set for Sunday 24 March,” the council of ministers said soon after in a statement.

The announcement is the latest twist in a month-old electoral crisis that has sparked violent unrest and warnings from Senegal’s international allies that its reputation as one of coup-hit West Africa’s more stable democracies is under threat.

The turmoil originates in a thwarted bid by the authorities to postpone the Feb. 25 poll to December. Sall cited concerns about electoral disputes for the move, but some of the opposition said it amounted to an attempted institutional coup.

(Reuters)