Senegalese President Macky Sall announced Monday that he will not seek a third term in office next year. Sall’s uncertain political future helped fan the flames of deadly riots after leftist opposition leader Ousmane Sonko was criminally convicted, barring him from seeking the West African nation’s highest office. Sall maintained that Senegal’s constitution would have allowed his candidacy despite having already been elected to a second term in 2019.
Senegalese President Macky Sall announced Monday that he will not seek a third term in office next year. Sall’s uncertain political future helped fan the flames of deadly riots after leftist opposition leader Ousmane Sonko was criminally convicted, barring him from seeking the West African nation’s highest office. Sall maintained that Senegal’s constitution would have allowed his candidacy despite having already been elected to a second term in 2019.
President stated that Senegal is more than him, and no dearth of talents in the country, and is capable of taking Senegal to the next level. Top opposition leader Ousmane Sonko already had called for more demonstrations around the West African country in the event Sall had instead announced his intention to run again in February. Sonko had long called for the president to bow out of the 2024 election publicly, accusing Sall’s government of bringing court cases against the opposition leader in an effort to sideline the competition ahead of February’s election. There have been widespread fears that Sall’s declaration about his political future could spark new waves of unrest throughout the West African nation long viewed as a bastion of stability in an otherwise politically turbulent region.Already, a wave of deadly protests erupted last month over a court case in which Sonko was sentenced to two years in prison after being convicted of corrupting youth.
Sall became Senegal’s president in 2012 after prevailing against an incumbent president, Abdoulaye Wade, whose decision to seek a controversial third term prompted violent street demonstrations. Wade ultimately conceded defeat after a runoff between him and Sall, his former protégé.In 2016, Sall amended Senegal’s Constitution to set a two-term presidential limit. His supporters maintained that his first term under the prior constitution shouldn’t count though. As recently as this past weekend, Sall was heard saying that the country’s Constitutional Council would allow for his candidacy, fuelling speculation he would announce his third term bid.
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A number of African presidents already have tried staying in power in recent years by modifying their constitutions first, including Ivory Coast’s Alassane Ouattara, who won a third term in 2020. Another, Alpha Conde of Guinea, won a third term that same year too but didn’t stay for long: A military coup removed him from power less than a year later.
