A constitutional dispute over the delay of elections that were originally set for this month is still raging in Senegal, where Senegalese President Macky Sall is meeting with his counterpart, Bola Tinubu, of Nigeria.
Days after the emergency talks between the foreign ministers of the bloc in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, Tinubu, who also serves as chair of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), is on a one-day visit to Dakar.
Senegal finds itself in one of its biggest crises since gaining independence from France in 1960 as a result of Sall’s decision to postpone the presidential election scheduled for February 25.
In a nation long seen as a bastion of democracy and stability in West Africa—a region recently rocked by coups and turmoil—youth protests against security forces have grown more violent.
Senegal, one of ECOWAS’s most stable members, has been pushed to adhere to its election schedule, but detractors have already questioned the organization’s ability to influence these more independent members. The three countries commanded by the military—Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger—that declared their exit from the bloc in January were not present at the meeting of foreign ministers on Thursday in Abuja. Guinea was not present either, having been suspended from the bloc after a coup.
The unrest has also cast doubt on the almost 50-year-old bloc’s larger role, particularly after it abandoned its threat of military action in Niger last year and there was no indication that the overthrown president of the nation was any closer to returning to office.
Sall stated that he decided to postpone the election due to a disagreement between the Constitutional Council and parliament on candidates who were not allowed to compete.
Amid concerns from throughout the world, he has stated that he want to start a process of “appeasement and reconciliation” and reaffirmed his vow not to run for a third term.
Leaders of the opposition have called the action a “constitutional coup” and criticized the police suppression of demonstrators.
On Monday, the Senegalese parliament approved the measure and Sall will remain in office until his successor takes over, perhaps not before early 2025. On April 2, his second term was scheduled to expire.
Tuesday saw more calls for protests from the Aar Sunu Election group (Protect our Election) campaigners.
Leaders of the opposition have called the action a “constitutional coup” and criticized the police suppression of demonstrators.
On Monday, the Senegalese parliament approved the measure and Sall will remain in office until his successor takes over, perhaps not before early 2025. On April 2, his second term was scheduled to expire.
Tuesday saw more calls for protests from the Aar Sunu Election group (Protect our Election) campaigners.