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Senegal Constitutional Council Overturns Delay of Presidential Vote


FILE - Senegal's president Macky Sall arrives to take part in a European Union forum on the Global Gateway investment initiative at the EU headquarters in Brussels on October 25, 2023.
FILE - Senegal's president Macky Sall arrives to take part in a European Union forum on the Global Gateway investment initiative at the EU headquarters in Brussels on October 25, 2023.

DAKAR — Senegal’s Constitutional Council on Thursday overturned the postponement of this month's presidential election, a move that plunged the country into its worst crisis in decades.

The Council said the law adopted by parliament on February 5 — which delayed the election for 10 months and would keep President Macky Sall in office beyond the end of his term — is unconstitutional, according to a document published on social media and authenticated by a source within the institution, AFP reported.

The constitutional body also annulled Sall's February 3 decree that modified the electoral calendar just three weeks before the vote, postponing the election from February 25 to December 15.

Sall's move provoked a widespread outcry from Senegal's opposition and civil society, who decried it as a "constitutional coup."

A protester throws stones during clashes with police on the sidelines of a protest against a last-minute delay of presidential elections in Dakar on February 9, 2024.
A protester throws stones during clashes with police on the sidelines of a protest against a last-minute delay of presidential elections in Dakar on February 9, 2024.

It prompted violent protests during which three people were killed and dozens arrested.

Senegal's major international partners also condemned the move and called on the government to hold the vote as soon as possible, fearing violent unrest.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is said to have spoken to Sall on Tuesday morning to emphasize the need for the polls to be on schedule, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters in Washington.

"We want to see them take place as soon as possible," he said. Miller said the U.S. was "extremely concerned about the situation."

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