DAKAR, Senegal: Senegalese civil society and the opposition kept up pressure on President Macky Sall ahead of Tuesday’s opposition protests against his move to postpone presidential elections.
Sall’s decision to postpone the February 25 vote has plunged Senegal into a crisis that has left three dead amid clashes between protesters and police.
The electoral collective Aar Sunu (Protect our elections), which includes about 40 civic, religious and professional groups, called a rally in Dakar on Tuesday at 15:00 CET.
Protests pitting youth against security forces threaten Senegal’s reputation as a haven of stability in West Africa as the region is wracked by coups and unrest.
The United States and the European Union called on the government to restore the original election schedule.
Organizers of Tuesday’s march said they had received no word from authorities on whether it would be banned.
Sall, who has been in office since 2012, is now looking for a way out of the turmoil.
The media reported the possibility of a new dialogue with the opposition, including anti-establishment fanatic Ousmane Sonko, who fought the state for more than two years before being jailed last year.
Some have suggested the possibility of amnesty for Sonko, his jailed deputy Bassirou Diomaye Faye and for people detained during the 2021 and 2023 riots.
The government did not comment on the news.
Parliament supported Sall’s suspension of the election until December 15, but only after security forces stormed parliament and detained some opposition MPs.
The vote paved the way for Sall – whose second term was set to expire in April – to remain in office until a successor is installed, likely in 2025.
Senegal’s opposition has condemned the move as a “constitutional coup” and suspects it is part of a plan by the presidential camp to extend Sall’s term, despite him repeating he will not run again.
Senegal’s eight public universities began a two-day strike on Monday to protest the death of a student during riots in the northern city of Saint-Louis on Friday, the main higher education union said.
The academics posted a video on social media demanding the “immediate restoration of the election schedule” and respect for human rights.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a statement that at least 271 people were arrested on Friday and Saturday.
“The authorities should release all those detained for expressing their political views, ensure the right to freedom of assembly and end attacks on journalists,” the NGO said.
President Sall argued that he postponed the election due to a dispute between parliament and the Constitutional Council over potential candidates who were banned from running, and fears of a return to unrest in 2021 and 2023.
He also said he wanted to start a process of “reconciliation and reconciliation”.
But there are questions whether his gesture will be accepted by Faye and Sonko.
Experts believe the chances of easing tensions are almost nil unless the pair are released from prison and Sonko is barred from standing in the elections. However, their party has so far rejected the dialogue offer.
Ex-presidents Abdou Diouf and Abdoulaye Wade – the father of one of the disqualified candidates, Karim Wade – called on Sall to organize “a national dialogue which he announced without delay”, according to a letter sent to AFP and attributed to the former leaders.
They also called on young people to “end the violence immediately”.
