Senegal’s president says he will step down on April 2

By James Tasamba

KIGALI, Rwanda (AA) – Senegal’s president announced Thursday that his mandate as president will end on April 2 and consultations for the organization of the election of his successor will start next week.

Speaking in a media interview in the capital Dakar, Macky Sall said the date for holding presidential elections he had postponed remains open but he plans to leave his position as president after the end of his term.

“On April 2, 2024, my mission ends as the head of Senegal,” he said.

“As far as the date is concerned, we'll see from the outcome of consultations, which are expected to begin on Monday, Feb. 26 and probably end on Tuesday. If a consensus is not reached, everything will be referred to the Constitutional Council,” he said.

The election can be held before or after April 2, he added.

Sall announced the indefinite suspension of the Feb. 25 presidential election on Feb. 3, citing a dispute over the candidate list and alleged corruption of constitutional judges.

The National Assembly then passed a bill postponing the vote until Dec. 15 as security forces stormed the building and removed some opposition lawmakers.

But the Senegalese Constitutional Council declared the law postponing the country’s presidential vote to December “unconstitutional” and annulled his decree to delay the poll.

The election delay in the West African country triggered violent protests, during which three people were killed and dozens of others were arrested.

The protesters accused Sall of using “fallacious reasons to postpone the election” just hours before the campaign began.