Macky Sall - The African Mirror

Feb

2024

Senegal panel suggests delayed polls be held in June to end crisis

SENEGAL'S National Dialogue Commission will propose a delayed presidential election be held on June 2 and recommend President Macky Sall remain in office until his successor is sworn in, commission member Ndiawar Paye said on Tuesday. The West African nation, set to become an oil and gas producer by the end of the year, has been thrown into an unprecedented political crisis after Sall postponed the election initially scheduled for February 25. The date proposal follows two days of dialogue organised by Sall as a way to ease tensions. His and parliament's failed bid to postpone the February 25 poll by 10…

Feb

2024

By The African Mirror

Senegalese President Sall’s opposition rivals reject talks

NEWS

SENEGALESE opposition presidential candidates rejected an invitation to join talks that President Macky Sall says are necessary before a delayed presidential election can be scheduled. On Thursday, Sall promised to step down when his mandate ends on April 2 but said he could not yet set a new date for an election despite pressure to end a three-week electoral crisis that has fuelled unrest and fears of democratic backsliding. He said political parties and civil society first needed to take part in talks scheduled for Monday, a day after the presidential vote was originally meant to be held. Sixteen of the 19…

Feb

2024

By The African Mirror

Senegal President Sall: April 2 will be end of mandate as president

NEWS

SENEGAL President Macky Sall said that April 2 will be the end of his mandate as president of the West African nation. He added, however, that it was unlikely the election of a new president will be completed before then. His announcement comes after a court ruled last week that a 10-month postponement of the election was unlawful. The election had initially been scheduled for February 25. "April 2, 2024, will be the end of my term at the head of the country, the end of my binding relationship with the Senegalese people as President of the Republic. I would…

Feb

2024

By The African Mirror

Explainer: What is happening in Senegal and could tensions escalate?

NEWS

SENEGALESE President Macky Sall has promised to schedule a presidential election as soon as possible, accepting a court judgement that the postponement of the February 25 poll to December was unconstitutional. The opposition and foreign powers had urged the authorities to comply with the constitutional council's ruling. The move to do so is likely to ease tensions and allay fears of authoritarian overreach in one of coup-hit West Africa's more stable democracies. WHY DID PRESIDENT MACKY SALL CALL FOR A POSTPONEMENT? Sall, 62, who is not standing for re-election and has reached the constitutional limit of two terms in power, said he…

Feb

2024

By PORTIA CROWE and NGOUDA DIONE

Senegal’s Sall promises to hold delayed presidential vote as soon as possible

NEWS

SENEGALESE President Macky Sall said that he would fully abide by a court decision that overturned the postponement of the presidential election to December, pledging to hold consultations to organise the vote as soon as possible. A bill that pushed back the February 25 poll and plunged the country into electoral uncertainty was overturned on Thursday by Senegal's Constitutional Council. Sall "has taken note" of the council's decision and request for the election to be held as soon as possible, the presidency said in a statement on Friday. "The president intends to fully execute the constitutional council's decision," it added. Sall has…

Feb

2024

By NGOUDA DIONE

Senegal cuts internet again amid widening crackdown on dissent

NEWS

SENEGAL cut mobile internet access ahead of a banned march against the postponement of a presidential election, and rights groups accused the authorities of using overly repressive tactics to stifle widespread opposition to the delay. The abrupt postponement of the February 25 vote to December has plunged Senegal into crisis and intensified a backlash against what many see as an attempt to extend President Macky Sall's mandate and a threat to one of the remaining democracies in coup-hit West Africa. After deadly clashes between protesters and police late last week, the government refused to permit a silent march planned by activist groups…

Feb

2024

By NGOUDA DIONE and COOPER INVEEN

Senegal battles first major wave of unrest over vote delay

NEWS

CLASHES between security forces and protesters gripped Senegal's capital and other cities, the first widespread unrest over the delay of a presidential election that many fear could lead to protracted instability. Less than three weeks before the February 25 vote, parliament voted to push it back to December, sealing an extension of President Macky Sall's mandate that has raised concerns that one of the remaining democracies in coup-hit West Africa is under threat. In the capital Dakar, police in riot gear fired tear gas, stun grenades and what appeared to be rubber bullets at large crowds of protesters who were burning tyres…

Feb

2024

By DOUGLAS YATES

Macky Sall throws Senegal’s democratic credentials into doubt

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

SENEGAL’S President Macky Sall announced in early February that presidential elections, originally scheduled for 25 February, would be postponed indefinitely. The announcement has raised fears of popular protests, violent repression, a once democratic president transforming into an authoritarian ruler – and possibly even another coup d’état in West Africa. DOUGLAS YATES, Professor of Political Science, American Graduate School in Paris (AGS) There has been a flurry of coups in the region since 2020 – Mali in August that year followed by a second in 2021. Guinea also saw a coup that year and Burkina Faso a year later. In July…

Feb

2024

By The African Mirror

What is happening in Senegal and could tensions escalate?

NEWS

SENEGAL'S parliament voted to postpone a presidential election from February 25 to December 15, extending President Macky Sall's mandate in an unprecedented break with the West African country's democratic tradition. Amid widespread public outcry to the postponement, some opposition lawmakers tried to block proceedings in the National Assembly building until security forces intervened and forced them off the central dais, allowing the vote to proceed. The contested bill was eventually passed by 105 members of parliament (MPs) in the 165-seat Assembly. WHY DID PRESIDENT SALL CALL FOR A POSTPONEMENT? Sall, who is not standing for re-election and has reached the constitutional limit…

Feb

2024

By DIADIE BA, NGOUDA DIONE and ZOHRA BENSEMRA

Senegal opposition candidates file legal challenges to election postponement

NEWS

THREE opposition candidates in Senegal's presidential election filed legal challenges to the president's abrupt postponement of the election, as riot police fired tear gas to break up a protest outside parliament. While protesters shouted slogans on the streets, lawmakers inside the National Assembly building debated into the evening a bill that would reschedule the February 25 vote to August 25 and extend President Macky Sall's mandate until his successor is installed. Sall's unprecedented announcement on Saturday pitched the West African nation into uncharted constitutional waters that threaten to tarnish its reputation as a bastion of democratic stability in a region swept by…