NAIROBI, KENYA — Opposition leaders in Senegal are protesting the move to postpone elections that had been set for February 25, while some analysts say the delay hurts Senegal’s reputation as a beacon of democracy.
President Macky Sall announced the delay this past weekend, saying it was necessary because of allegations of corruption in election-related cases and the disqualification of some leading candidates, including Ousmane Sonko, who came third in the 2019 elections, and Karim Wade, son of former President Abdoulaye Wade.
Lloyd Kuveya, assistant director at the Center for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria law school in South Africa, said, “Some people are saying because of the chaos that is prevailing in Senegal, where some opposition party leaders are imprisoned, including Sonko, which is really disturbing … the elections will not be a legitimate election.”
Senegal’s parliament voted Monday to delay the election until December. The parliamentary process was chaotic as security forces escorted out some opposition lawmakers as they tried to block the vote.
On Monday, two opposition parties filed a court petition challenging the delay.
Anta Babacar Ngom, presidential candidate for the Alternative for the Citizen Succession party, said, “This is President Macky Sall’s balance sheet. It’s upsetting, because he almost left with his head held high; but now, unfortunately, he’s showing [his] true face.
“It’s a constitutional coup, and we won’t accept it.”
In July, following deadly clashes protesting a possible run for a third term by Sall, he said he would not seek one.
Kuveya said it seems like Sall wants to stay a little longer.
“Can we really trust Macky Sall?” he asked. “Everybody knows that his intentions were going for a third term, and if it hadn’t been for the protests of the people of Senegal, I am quite sure he would’ve gone ahead to change the constitution and gotten the supreme court to endorse that unconstitutional change.”
Kuveya said Sall had ample time to prepare for the February 25 elections.
“You have five years in which to ensure that there’s a conducive environment in which elections are going to be held,” he told VOA via Skype. “You have five years to allow political participation of any person who wants to contest for political power.”
Senegal has long been seen as a beacon of democracy in a region plagued by coups.
Awa Dieng Morel, CEO of France Ak Senegal, a nongovernmental organization active in the field of education, said, “It’s very sad, because Senegal is losing this image of being an island of democracy in Western Africa, and its credibility, too.
“When one sees what is happening in other countries of the subregion — like Niger, Mali, or Burkina Faso or what happened years ago … in Ivory Coast — it’s really frightening,” she told VOA by WhatsApp on Tuesday.
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