Senegal in Political Crisis as President Suspends Election

iexclusivenews – Senegal’s President Macky Sall shocked the nation on Saturday by announcing the indefinite suspension of the presidential election that was supposed to take place on February 25.

The announcement came just hours before the official start of the campaign period.

Sall said he made the decision after signing a decree that nullified a previous one that had fixed the election date.

He said the reason for his move was to allow the parliament to investigate the integrity of two judges from the Constitutional Council, the body that oversees the electoral process and validates the results.

The Constitutional Council had been accused of bias and corruption by some opposition parties and civil society groups, who claimed that the council had unfairly disqualified some candidates and favored Sall’s re-election bid.

Minister Resigns in Protest

The president’s decision sparked a political crisis in the West African nation, which is widely seen as a model of democracy and stability in the region.

One of the first casualties of the crisis was Abdou Latif Coulibaly, a minister in Sall’s government, who resigned from his post on Saturday.

Coulibaly, who had been a vocal critic of the Constitutional Council, said he could not remain in the government after Sall’s “unconstitutional” and “unilateral” act.

He said he wanted to have the “full and complete freedom” to express his political views and defend his convictions.

Coulibaly also called on the Senegalese people to resist Sall’s attempt to “usurp” their sovereignty and to demand the restoration of the constitutional order and the respect of the electoral calendar.

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US Urges Swift Resolution

The international community also reacted to the political turmoil in Senegal, with the United States urging the country to “swiftly” set a new date for the election and ensure a peaceful and fair process.

The US State Department said on Saturday that it was “deeply concerned” about the disruption of the presidential electoral calendar, which could undermine the credibility and legitimacy of the election.

The department’s Bureau of African Affairs posted a message on X, a social media platform, saying that it urged “all participants in Senegal’s electoral process to engage peacefully in the important effort to swiftly set a new date and the conditions for a timely, free and fair election.”

The department also said that it acknowledged the allegations of irregularities in the electoral process, but that it expected the Senegalese authorities to address them in a transparent and impartial manner.