Senegal has all eyes on the outgoing head of state Macky Sall, who is due to speak on Thursday February 22 in the evening and could clarify his plans to organize the presidential election and emerge from the deep crisis caused by its postponement.
President Sall must respond at 7 p.m. (local and GMT) to some public and private media, the presidency said.
The Senegalese, initially called to the polls this Sunday, are hanging on his word to know when they will vote, after the shock of the postponement of the election.
The president faces multiple pressures, domestic and international, for the vote to be held as quickly as possible.
His precise intentions remain secret.
Senegal, readily praised for its stability and democratic practices despite having experienced serious political unrest in the past, is plunged into the unknown as rarely since independence after the decision in early February by President Sall and the Assembly national to postpone the presidential election scheduled for February 25 until December 15.
This postponement, denounced as a
“constitutional coup”
by the opposition, caused a commotion in public opinion and demonstrations which left four dead.
Last week, the Constitutional Council vetoed this postponement and the retention of President Sall in his post until the installation of his successor.
The Council noted the impossibility of maintaining the presidential election on February 25 and asked the authorities to organize it
“as soon as possible”
.
Despite speculation about the temptation to force a move, President Sall said the next day his intention to respect the Council's decision and to carry out
"without delay the necessary consultations"
for the organization of the vote.
Since then, nothing has officially filtered out of the discussions he allegedly held, despite statements to the press from personalities saying they had played good offices, including with Ousmane Sonko, the main character in a standoff with the state which has given rise to several episodes of deadly protests since 2021.
Ousmane Sonko has been imprisoned since July 2023 and was disqualified from the presidential election.
But the candidacy of his second, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, also detained, was validated by the Constitutional Council.
President Sall asked Wednesday in the Council of Ministers that
"all arrangements"
be taken
"for a good organization of the presidential election on a date which will be fixed very soon, after consultations with political actors, society leaders civil and representatives of the active forces
,” reported his services.
Calls for mobilization
He expressed his desire for
“dialogue for the appeasement and pacification of the public space”, and asked the Ministry of Justice to finalize texts “to materialize the desire for reconciliation and forgiveness”.
A prisoner amnesty law was discussed a week ago.
Several hundred detainees have been released since last week, contributing to a fragile detente.
But civil society, which mobilized several thousand people last weekend, has planned a new rally for Saturday in Dakar to maintain pressure on those in power, just like the presidential camp to support Macky Sall.
The Bassirou Diomaye Faye camp accused the president on Wednesday evening of dragging his feet, as did the vast majority of the 19 candidates selected by the Constitutional Council.
He will only agree to discuss to set
"without delay"
the date of the presidential election, and this must take place before April 2 and the end of Macky Sall's mandate, he warned in a press release.
President Sall justified the postponement of the election by the heated quarrels that occurred during the pre-electoral process.
He said he wanted an incontestable election, worrying about the risk of new outbreaks of violence after those of 2021 and 2023.
After the intervention of the Constitutional Council, a new controversy emerged on the holding of the presidential election before or after April 2, and on a restart from scratch, or not, of the process of approval of candidacies.
The opposition suspects the presidential camp of wanting to settle with the calendar for fear of the defeat of its candidate, Prime Minister Amadou Ba, designated by President Sall to succeed him.
She suspects a maneuver to keep Macky Sall in power.
He has said several times that he will not run for a third term.
The coalition supporting the ruling candidate called on its executives on Wednesday evening to
“mobilize the voters for a clear victory in the first round (...) whatever the date that is chosen”
.