2024-02-13 05:29:47
The Senegalese are called on Tuesday followingnoon to a silent march in Dakar to protest once morest the postponement of their presidential election and the extension of the mandate of the head of state Macky Sall, objects of a vast movement of indignation.
“Pacific”
The new collective Aar Sunu Élection (“Let’s protect our election”), which claims several dozen trade union organizations and citizen and religious groups, is asking Senegalese people to meet from 3 p.m. (local) in a neighborhood close to the center of the capital.
“We call on all Senegalese to come peacefully and participate in this silent march to say no to the postponement of the elections, to say no to the extension of the mandate of President Macky Sall”Abdou Khafor Kandji told the press on Monday on behalf of one of the groups that form Aar Sunu Election.
This march will take place four days following a large-scale protest across the country repressed by security forces. Three people were killed. Many Senegalese wanted to respond to an appeal – to unidentified perpetrators – broadcast on social networks, but were prevented from doing so by the police and gendarmes.
The authorities maintained doubts regarding the issuance of an authorization to demonstrate on Tuesday. They have banned many opposition demonstrations in recent years.
Senegal is in the grip of one of its most serious political crises in recent decades since President Sall announced the postponement of the presidential election on February 3, three weeks before the deadline.
His supporters in the National Assembly and those of Karim Wade, a disqualified candidate, then endorsed the postponement of the election to December 15 and the maintenance of President Sall in his post until his successor takes office, a priori so early 2025.
This last minute change, exceptional in a country praised for its stability and democratic practices, raised cries of “constitutional coup”.
The opposition suspects the presidential camp of making arrangements with the calendar because it is sure of the defeat of its candidate, Prime Minister Amadou Ba, designated by Macky Sall to succeed him.
Amnesty issue
She suspects a maneuver so that President Sall, whose mandate officially expired on April 2, remains in power. The head of state, elected in 2012 and re-elected in 2019, repeats that he will not run once more.
The severity of the crisis raises fears of a new episode of violence like the country experienced in March 2021 and June 2023 around the fate of the anti-system opponent Ousmane Sonko, declared presidential candidate, now detained and excluded from the race .
The vagueness maintained by President Sall over his candidacy for a third term then fueled tensions until he announced in July 2023 that he would leave it at that.
Dozens of people have been killed since 2021 according to human rights defenders, and hundreds arrested.
The response of the authorities to recent attempts at mobilization, the use of force, the arrests, the ill-treatment suffered by a number of journalists according to press organizations, the temporary suspension of the Internet of mobile data and the cutoff during A few days of a television signal critical of the government brought them new criticism.
Major international partners of Senegal have expressed their concern regarding the situation and called more or less explicitly for a reestablishment of the electoral calendar.
Macky Sall justified the postponement of the presidential election by the fierce disputes sparked by the process of validating candidates. He said he wanted an indisputable election, worrying regarding the risk of new outbreaks of violence.
He affirmed his will “appeasement and reconciliation” and proposed a dialogue to the rest of the political class.
This attempt to reach out raises a multitude of questions, in particular on its acceptance by the opposition and on a possible release of opponents Ousmane Sonko, Bassirou Diomaye Faye and people imprisoned since 2021.
Some media have raised the possibility of an amnesty, not confirmed by the presidency or the government.
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