Senegalese President Macky Sall announced on Thursday that his presidential mandate would expire on 2 April, with consultations to arrange an election for his successor to begin next week.
Sall stated that the date for the postponed presidential election remained open, but he intended to leave the presidency after his term ended.
On April 2, 2024, my mission ends as the head of Senegal. As far as the date is concerned, we’ll see from the outcome of consultations, which are expected to begin on Monday, February 26 and probably end on Tuesday. If a consensus is not reached, everything will be referred to the Constitutional Council.
Elections could be held before or after 2 April, he added. Sall announced an indefinite suspension of the presidential election on 25 February, citing a dispute over the list of candidates and alleged corruption of constitutional judges.
The National Assembly then passed a bill to postpone the vote until 15 December as security forces stormed the building and removed some opposition lawmakers. However, Senegal’s Constitutional Council declared the law postponing the country’s presidential election until December “unconstitutional” and cancelled the postponement decree.
Senegal’s election delay triggered violent protests with three people killed and dozens of others arrested. Objectors accused Sall of using “fallacious reasons to postpone the election” just hours before the start of the campaign.
