Senegalese President Macky Sall announced on Saturday that he would postpone the presidential elections scheduled for February 25. He did not mention a new date, international news agencies report. Sall announced the decision in a televised speech. He cited a conflict over the list of candidates as the reason for the postponement.
The leader of Parti Démocratique Sénégalais, Karim Wade, was excluded from participating in the elections last month because he did not renounce his French nationality in time. Presidential candidates may only have Senegalese nationality according to the constitution. Wade’s party asked on Friday to postpone the elections. Sall, who is himself affiliated with the Alliance pour la République party, now seems to respond to this. Since Senegal became independent from France in the 1960s, an election has not been postponed.
Unrest
The delay fuels fears of unrest in a country usually considered stable. Last year there was a lot of dissatisfaction among mainly young Senegalese about President Sall. They accused him of becoming increasingly autocratic. At least 23 people were killed in riots during days of demonstrations. Sall did nothing to alleviate the unrest for a long time, but finally said in the summer of 2023 that he would not stand for re-election.
Sall was first elected president in 2012 and re-elected in 2019. He reiterated on Saturday that the postponement of the elections does not change his decision not to stand for election again.
Opposition candidate Khalifa Sall (no relation to the president) said a few hours before Macky Sall’s announcement that postponing the elections was undesirable. According to him, it would undermine the legitimacy of the elections. Delay would “pave the way for unprecedented political instability.” Khalifa Sall fears that the country will enter a period of uncertainty with “disastrous consequences”.