Senegalese President, Macky Sall has scheduled a delayed presidential election for March 24, the government announced on Wednesday after a top court ruled that a proposal to hold the vote after his mandate terminates on April 2 was unconstitutional.
The announcement wraps up a dramatic evening that saw Sall dissolve the government and replace Prime Minister Amadou Ba with Interior Minister, Sidiki Kaba so that Mr Ba, the ruling coalition’s presidential candidate, can concentrate on his electoral campaign.
Earlier the Constitutional Council ruled that a proposal from a national dialogue commission for the vote to be held on June 2 was not in accordance with the constitution.
The decision is the newest twist in a month-old electoral controversy that has elicited violent unrest and warnings from Senegal’s international allies that its reputation as one of coup-hit West Africa’s more stable democracies is at risk.
The new date was approved by Anta Babacar, the opposition presidential candidate who was among the majority of the 19 contenders in the race who were vying for the vote to be held as soon as possible.
Anta Babacar had said to Reuters;
“I think this is very good news. This is the reason why we were in conflict for these past weeks and days, because we knew that it was actually possible to schedule these elections before April 2.”
Wednesday evening also saw the parliament embrace an amnesty law proposed by Sall in an attempt to ease tensions as he navigates the standoff with the opposition.
This law grants amnesty to hundreds of protesters and opposition members accused of crimes in regards to being anti-government within the last three years. But this law would also likely let security forces off the hook for excessive and sometimes harmful use of force against protesters.
