Political chaos in Senegal as government suspends mobile internet, private TV channel to quell protests

By James Tasamba

KIGALI, Rwanda (AA) - Amid violent protests in Senegal over the postponement of presidential elections and the arrest of an opposition leader, President Macky Sall's government has suspended the broadcast of a private TV channel as well as mobile internet access in the country to quell public outrage and demonstrations.

Senegal has been in political chaos since President Sall announced on Saturday that the Feb. 25 presidential election would be postponed indefinitely, citing a disagreement over the candidate list and allegations of corruption among constitutional judges.

However, protests erupted across the country on Sunday, led by opposition political parties and some civil society groups, accusing Sall of using "fallacious reasons to postpone the election" just hours before the campaign began.

Some opposition leaders opposed the postponement of the presidential election, including former Prime Minister Aminata Toure, who was arrested during a protest in the capital Dakar on Sunday.

Some local media outlets reported that violence started during the protest when police fired tear gas shells to disperse the crowd, who responded by throwing stones at them.

Later that evening, Senegalese authorities suspended the signal of Walf TV, a private television channel, accusing it of inciting violence.

Separately, the government suspended mobile internet access in an attempt to quell protests.

A statement issued on Monday by the Communication Ministry said that mobile data is temporarily suspended from Sunday at 10 p.m. local time (2200GMT) due to the “dissemination of several hateful and subversive messages relayed on social networks in a context of threats of disturbances to public order.”

Local media reported that residents were unable to access mobile internet on Monday.

Earlier, protesters outside Senegal's National Assembly were dispersed by riot police in Dakar.

Lawmakers are due to meet later in the day to discuss a bill that would postpone the presidential election for six months.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) bloc on Sunday called on Senegalese politicians to “prioritize dialogue and collaboration” for transparent, inclusive, and credible elections.

Last month, the Senegalese Constitutional Council approved 20 presidential candidates, with campaigns set to begin on Feb. 4.

In June of last year, the government restricted mobile internet access in response to deadly protests sparked by the two-year imprisonment of detained opposition leader Ousmane Sonko.