The President of Senegal, Macky Sall, has announced the indefinite postponement of the presidential election scheduled for February 25. The postponement was announced hours before official campaigning was due to start.
While addressing the citizens, Sall said he signed a decree that abolished the previous measure that fixed the date because lawmakers were investigating two Constitutional Council judges with questionable integrity in the election process.
Sall added: “I will begin an open national dialogue to bring together the conditions for a free, transparent and inclusive election.”
This is the first time a Senegalese presidential election will be postponed. The decision came after a dispute between the National Assembly and the Constitutional Court over the rejection of candidates.
A November 2023 decree approved by Sall scheduled the election for February 25, with 20 candidates contesting but two major opposition figures excluded.
Sall has said repeatedly that he would hand over power in early April to the winner of the election.
After announcing he would not seek a third term as president, Sall anointed Prime Minister Amadou Ba from his party as his successor to be.
The Constitutional Council has excluded many candidates from the vote, including Ousmane Sonko, who was jailed in July 2023, and Karim Wade, son of former president Abdoulaye Wade.
Meanwhile, Rose Wardini, one of the two women on the approved list of candidates, was detained recently on charges of allegedly hiding her French citizenship.
