DAKAR, Senegal
Senegal's Constitutional Council on Thursday overturned the postponement of this month's presidential election.
The delay caused widespread
protests and sparked the worst
chaos Senegal has seen in years.
Parliament had voted earlier
this month to delay elections until December. That came after President
Macky Sall announced his decision to postpone the ballot that was
slated for February 25.
Senegal's top election
authority canceled Sall's decree in a judgement that was approved by seven
members of the Constitutional Council.
The National Assembly's move
on February 5 to reschedule the vote for December 14 was "contrary to
the constitution," the judgement said.
At least three people were
killed during clashes with security forces as protests over the
postponement turned
deadly over the weekend.
Rights group Amnesty
International said that one of the victims was a 16-year-old boy. Security
forces have been accused of using
excessive force and repeatedly using tear gas to disperse protesters
during demonstrations on February 4 and 5.
Security forces
also removed opposition members from parliament as they tried to block the
February 5 vote. Sall's party has a majority and the bill quickly
passed, but the opposition described
the move a "constitutional coup."
Senegal's government cut acess
to mobile
internet sevices earlier this week, with the Communications Ministry saying
"hateful and subversive" messages were circulating online.
President Macky Sall delayed
elections citing time needed to resolve controversies over the
disqualification of some candidates and a conflict between the government's
legislative and judicial branches.
But critics have accused Mall
of clinging
on to power, even though he has vowed not to stay in
office past the constitutionally bound two terms.
No comments:
Post a Comment