Senegal will hold its delayed presidential election on March 24, the government has said, following weeks of political turmoil and violent protests calling for an immediate vote.
The announcement on Wednesday after a cabinet meeting followed a February ruling in which the country’s top court declared that outgoing President Macky Sall’s plans to hold the vote after his term expires on April 2 were unconstitutional.
Sall also dissolved the government on Wednesday, replacing Prime Minister Amadou Ba with Interior Minister Sidiki Kaba. The presidency said that change would help Ba, who is the ruling coalition’s presidential candidate, focus on his electoral campaign.
It is the latest twist in a charged Senegal where Sall’s decision to delay elections originally set for February 25, citing errors in the electoral process, led to violent unrest, and warnings from the country’s international allies that its reputation as one of coup-hit West Africa’s more stable democracies is under threat.
The crisis had prompted an emergency meeting of the regional Economic Community of West African States, bloc in an attempt to calm widespread violence.
The Constitutional Council had in February ruled that a proposal from a national dialogue commission for the vote to be held on June 2 was not in line with the constitution.
“The Council’s decision to stand up to the president is seen as a tribute to Senegalese democracy, and the new election date comes as a relief to many Senegalese who will finally have a say in their country’s future,” it was reported.
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Sall had cited concerns about electoral disputes for his move to delay the vote, but opposition parties said it amounted to an attempted institutional coup.
Opposition presidential candidate Anta Babacar, who was among the majority of the 19 contenders in the race pushing for the vote to be held as soon as possible, welcomed the announcement.
“At the end of the day, the question is why did he postpone it in the first place?”
“He talked about an institutional crisis, but today we have proof that Senegal is in no form of crisis,” he said.
Parliament on Wednesday additionally approved an amnesty law proposed by Sall in an attempt to ease tensions as he navigates a tense standoff with the opposition.
The law would see hundreds of protesters and opposition members pardoned after they were accused of crimes relating to antigovernment protests in the last three years.
