A decision which is unlikely to ease the tensions shaking the country.
The Senegalese Parliament adopted on Monday evening in great confusion the bill aimed at postponing the presidential election, initially scheduled for February 25, to December 15, 2024.
The law was adopted, indicated the President of the National Assembly, after several opposition deputies obstructing the vote were evacuated manu militari by the gendarmerie.
The country has been shaken by a serious political crisis since Senegalese President Macky Sall's decision on Saturday to postpone the date of the election scheduled for February 25.
“It is a day of great sadness and indignation for Senegalese democracy,” lamented opposition leader and former Prime Minister Aminata Touré.
Senegal is considered an island of stability
The Senegalese president justified his decision by the crisis, according to him, between the National Assembly and the Constitutional Council, but his opponents suspect him of simply wanting to stay in power.
Read alsoPostponement of the presidential election, clashes, arrests of opponents… a weekend of high tension in Senegal
The postponement of the presidential election is a first in Senegal, considered an island of stability in a region plagued by coups d'état.
Washington and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) expressed their deep concern while Paris called on “the authorities to remove uncertainties around the electoral calendar so that the elections can be held as soon as possible ".