DAKAR, Senegal
Senegal President Macky Sall said on Thursday that April 2 will be the end of his mandate as president of the nation. He added, however, that it was unlikely the election of a new president will be completed before then.
Sall's announcement could
assuage fears he was planning to extend his rule in the country, an issue that
had contributed to a tense political climate, and sometimes violent protests in a country seen as one of the
stable democracies in the region.
His announcement came after
the country's Constitutional Council, the highest election authority, ruled last week that a 10-month postponement of the
vote was unlawful. The election had initially been scheduled for
February 25.
"April 2, 2024, will be
the end of my term at the head of the country, the end of my binding
relationship with the Senegalese people as president of the republic. I would
like this debate to be clearly settled," Sall said during an interview on
national television.
Sall however said that he
cannot issue a decree to hold the election before a national dialogue takes
place.
The dialogue, which would
include civil society groups, political parties and candidates, is set to begin
on Monday and will likely finish by Tuesday, he said.
He said that candidates who
had not been approved by the Constitutional Council would also be invited to
the dialogue.
Prominent opposition figures
including the firebrand jailed politician Ousmane Sonko and Karim Wade, the son
of former president Abdoulaye Wade, were excluded from the list of 19
candidates approved for the election.
"If we find consensus, I
will issue the decree immediately to set the date; if consensus is not found, I
will refer the matter to the Constitutional Council," Sall said.
But he added he did not think
the process would be finished before April 2.
In case the process runs
beyond that date, he said: "What is certain is that there will be no void.
We cannot leave a country without a president."
"I want to make the
dichotomy clearly between the election and the end of the mandate," he
said, adding that he will follow the guidance of the Constitutional Council on
the matter.
Asked about opposition
candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who has been in detention since April, Sall
said he could benefit from a provisional release in order to participate in the
dialogue.
Sall last week promised he would abide by the Constitutional
Council's request for the vote to be scheduled as soon as possible, after the
crisis triggered violent street protests and warnings of authoritarian
overreach.
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