Thousands of Senegalese march again as elections take place

Thousands of people took part in the Senegalese capital’s first mandated protests on Saturday since President Macky Sall postponed the election of his successor before the Supreme Court overturned his ruling.

Sall’s last-minute move to postpone the February 25 vote triggered the worst crisis in traditionally stable Senegal in decades.

The Constitutional Council stepped in on Thursday, with the president vowing to organize elections “as soon as possible” under growing pressure at home and abroad, without setting any date.

On the streets of Dakar, demonstrators wore black T-shirts emblazoned with “Aar Sunu Election” (Protect Our Elections), the name of the civil society group organizing the peaceful protest.

They held placards that read “Free Senegal,” “Respect the election date” and “No to the constitutional coup.”

Military police were deployed around the march area, but they were not wearing riot gear as they had done at previous demonstrations.

Tensions have eased since the council called for a vote to be held “as soon as possible” and authorities approved the march.

“Today’s slogan is mobilization,” presidential candidate Malik Gaku said at the march.

“The Senegalese state cannot make any more mistakes and must organize elections in March so that the transfer of power between President Sall and the new president can take place on April 2,” Sall said at the end of his official term in power since 2012. , decided not to run again.

Rapper El Maestro le Kangham, who was draped in the Senegalese flag, said his decision to heed the committee’s call “relieves a lot of pressure”.

“I don’t trust him personally and I’m waiting to see if he keeps his word,” the 34-year-old demonstrator said.

At the end of the march, the Arsunu Electoral Collective issued a communiqué calling on its members to “continue mobilization, remain vigilant, and monitor the republican process.”

Previous protests against the postponement of the vote, scheduled for December 15 by parliament, were banned and ended violently, resulting in large numbers of arrests. On February 9, three people were killed.

Sall said he canceled the vote due to the controversy over the disqualification of potential candidates and concerns about renewed unrest in 2021 and 2023.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from Yonhap News Agency-AFP)