SENEGAL’s Constitutional Council on Thursday cancelled the decree signed by President Macky Sall that postponed the country’s election in a majority judgement approved by seven members of the body.
The National Assembly’s move on February 5 to reschedule the vote for December 14 also was “contrary to the constitution”, the judgement said.
Opposition presidential candidates and lawmakers had filed a number of legal challenges to last week’s parliamentary bill, which also extended President Macky Sall’s mandate in what critics said amounted to an “institutional coup”.
Sall, who has been in power since 2012, sparked uproar on February 3 when he called off the elections over disputes about the disqualification of potential candidates and concern about a repeat of the unrest seen in 2021 and 2023.
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Parliament backed Sall’s suspension of the election until December 15, but only after security forces stormed the building and removed some opposition lawmakers who opposed the bill.
The election delay in one of West Africa’s most stable democracies 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.
Opposition and civil society groups have issued new calls for demonstrations on Friday.
Earlier on Thursday, several government opponents were released from prison, their lawyers told AFP, in what appeared to be an attempt to appease public opinion.
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“Most of my clients in politically-motivated cases have been released,” lawyer Cheikh Koureissy Ba told AFP, adding that this concerned several dozen detainees.
A list of several released opponents was given to AFP by another lawyer, Moussa Sarr, which included Aliou Sane, the coordinator of the citizens’ opposition movement “Y’en a marre” (“We’re fed up”), Djamil Sane, the mayor of a Dakar neighbourhood, and several members of the dissolved opposition party Pastef – which is headed by opposition figurehead Ousmane Sonko.
“As a result of international pressure, President Macky Sall is ordering some releases,” said Souleymane Djim, a member of the Collective of families of political prisoners.
Sonko – who is one of Sall’s leading opponents – and his second in command, Bassirou Diomaye Faye have been detained since 2023. There is currently no news of their possible release.
