The Senegalese presidential election postponed by Macky Sall: France calls for a vote “as soon as possible”

Macky Sall, le Président du Sénégal. EPA – HANNIBAL HANSCHKE

Senegal's President Macky Sall announced on Saturday the postponement of the February 25 presidential election due to disputes over candidacies and accusations of alleged corruption against two members of the Constitutional Council.

This unprecedented postponement, a few hours before the opening of the electoral campaign, follows an official request from the Senegalese Democratic Party (PDS), an opposition party whose candidate had been excluded from the race in January.

The decision of the Constitutional Council to exclude prominent candidates, such as Karim Wade of the PDS and Ousmane Sonko, an emblematic figure of the opposition, has fueled growing discontent with the electoral process. The excluded candidates claim that the application rules were not applied fairly, which the authorities deny.

No new date set

"These murky conditions could seriously harm the credibility of the election, by planting the seeds of pre- and post-electoral litigation", declared the Senegalese president during a televised address to the nation.

Macky Sall did not set a new date for the vote but indicated that he "will initiate an open national dialogue in order to to create the conditions for a free, transparent and inclusive election.

The Head of State also clarified that this postponement did not change his decision not to run for a third term.

"We call on the authorities to remove the uncertainties surrounding the electoral calendar so that the elections can be held as soon as possible and in compliance with the rules of the Senegalese democracy", for its part declared the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a press release cited by BFMTV.& nbsp;