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Senegal is one of the most stable democracies in sub-Saharan Africa. The election campaign which was scheduled to commence on February 25th has thrown a veil of uncertainty on the holding of the election with new dates not being announced.
Senegalese President Macky Sall postponed the presidential elections due later this month. In a decree announced, the President cited controversies over the disqualification of some candidates and allegations of corruption in election-related cases as the immediate reason for the postponement of the elections.
Senegal is one of the most stable democracies in sub-Saharan Africa. The election campaign which was scheduled to commence on February 25th has thrown a veil of uncertainty on the holding of the election with new dates not being announced.
Significantly, Sall signed a decree repealing the law that convened the electoral body. However, he made it clear that there was no change in his earlier stand of not contesting the elections. He also announced the establishment of a parliamentary commission for investigating the integrity of two judges from the Constitutional Council, whose involvement in corruption was reported. This delay in holding the election is happening for the first time since 1963.
President Sall expressed his commitment to initiating an open national dialogue to ensure conditions for a free, transparent, and inclusive election. Initially[jt1] , elected in 2012 for a seven-year term and re-elected in 2019 for five years, President Sall had earlier declared that he would not seek another term, designating Prime Minister Amadou Ba as his successor.
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The Constitutional Council had excluded several candidates for the election, including opposition figures Ousmane Sonko and Karim Wade, sparking controversy. The political landscape in Senegal is now in flux, with the postponement raising questions about the country’s electoral process and the challenges faced by the opposition candidates who were disqualified.
