On February 3, Macky Sall took everyone by surprise by postponing the presidential election three weeks before the vote.
The National Assembly set this election for December 15 and voted to maintain Macky Sall in power until his successor takes office, probably in early 2025 while his second term officially expired on April 2.
This decision ignited the powder and a wave of protests in the country.
Since Friday, demonstrations have been suppressed by security forces.
They dispersed the slightest gathering by firing tear gas.
On Saturday, a 16-year-old high school student was killed while demonstrating in southern Senegal, bringing to three the number of deaths in the country since the announcement of this postponement.
Landing Camara, known as Diedhiou, died Saturday evening from his injuries at the regional hospital in Ziguinchor, stronghold of imprisoned opponent Ousmane Sonko.
In a message on social networks, France and the United States Embassy in Senegal “urged all parties to act in a peaceful and measured manner” and again “asked President Sall to restore the electoral calendar, to restore confidence and calm the situation.
For its part, the European Union (EU) “called on the authorities to guarantee fundamental freedoms”, according to a spokesperson for the head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell.
Sunday evening, Walf TV, a private Senegalese television station suspended a week ago for “inciting violence” through its images of the protests, was reinstated on the country's TNT and Canal bouquets.
“We thank the Senegalese people who fought hard, and the president for his gesture which liberates an entire people,” declared Cheikh Niass, the CEO of the channel.
A new demonstration planned for Tuesday
If the majority of cities, including the capital Dakar, seem to have regained a semblance of calm, points of dispute remain.
In Ziguinchor, capital of Casamance, clashes continued, pitting dozens of young people, who formed roadblocks and threw stones, against the security forces.
“A young person received a projectile on the head and died from his injuries in the intensive care unit last night,” a hospital official said on condition of anonymity on Sunday.
An investigation was also opened after the death on Friday of a 22-year-old geography student in Saint-Louis (north) in circumstances that are still unclear.
A street vendor also succumbed to his injuries on Saturday in Dakar, victim according to his relatives of a police shooting the day before.
The majority of cities regained calm on Saturday, including Dakar, the capital.
But in Ziguinchor, capital of Casamance, the clashes continued, pitting dozens of young people, who formed roadblocks and threw stones, against the security forces.
The opposition in the country denounced the “abuses of this dying power”.
“We call on the regional and international community to witness the excesses of this dying power,” declared Khalifa Sall, one of the main presidential candidates.
The coalition of anti-system candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who received the support of Ousmane Sonko, denounced "the brutality of the security forces who carried out unprecedented violence" while welcoming "the efforts" of civil society and political actors to “block the constitutional coup d’état” and maintain the presidential election on February 25.
A new demonstration launched by a civil society collective, Aar Sunu Election (“Let’s protect our election”), is planned for Tuesday.