The Senegalese political scene is going through a period of unprecedented turbulence following the announcement of the postponement of the presidential elections by President Macky Sall, just a few hours before the official start of the electoral campaign initially scheduled for February 25, 2024. This decision was taken in despite the unsuccessful attempts of the president and his majority in the National Assembly to postpone the vote to a later date, i.e. December 15, 2024. It is thanks to the intervention of the Constitutional Council that the holding of the Elections were imposed before April 2, the date marking the end of the current presidential term.
The year 2024 was marked by tensions, between demonstrations, political unrest and unprecedented decisions by President Sall. On February 3, Macky Sall, having already given up on running for a third term, surprised everyone by canceling with a speech to the nation the decree which fixed the date of the election. The electoral process up to this point was following its normal course, including the publication by the Constitutional Council, in mid-January, of the provisional list of candidates including Karim Wade.
Karim Wade’s candidacy was rejected following a finding by the Constitutional Council of his dual nationality, which is contrary to Senegalese legislation stipulating that “any candidate for the presidency of the Republic must be exclusively of Senegalese nationality”. This invalidation provoked a series of protests, notably from Wade, who suspected members of the Council of acts of corruption, a situation which gave rise to a parliamentary investigation which was subsequently aborted by the courts.
Faced with growing tensions, Macky Sall proclaimed, according to information from our colleagues at Le Quotidien, the opening of a national dialogue aimed at guaranteeing transparent and inclusive elections, but this ended in a crisis with four deaths and several arrests. The Constitutional Council, in pivot, exercised its arbitration by declaring the law of the National Assembly postponing the elections as unconstitutional, and annulled the president’s decree modifying the electoral calendar. Finally, a compromise was found to organize the election on March 24, with a first round set for March 31, after proposals from the ‘7 Wise Men’ of the Constitutional Council.
In conclusion, according to our readings on the Le Quotidien website, this climate of political crisis saw Macky Sall defend his desire for appeasement through the amnesty law, notably allowing the activist Bassirou Diomaye Faye to become the fifth President of Senegal, with Ousmane Sonko as Prime Minister. This turbulent chapter is coming to an end, with uncertainty surrounding the year 2025.
