Senegal's presential election has been postponed. President Macky Sall stated the reason for the decision was related to the list of candidates. The dispute arose from the actions of the Constitutional Council . They excluded a number of opposition candidates. The legality of this is brought into question. While there are some qualifications candidates have to meet to run for office, it appears these actions are designed to favor President Macky Sall. Having free and fair elections is not possible, if citizens are not given options. The Senegalese Democratic Party did request the election to be postponed, so they could get Karim Wade to run. Wade was an opposition figure that was excluded. The PASTEF Party is the most vocal critic of the postponement of the presidential election. President Macky Sall expressed that he has no desire to run for a third term. The address to the public did not make mention what the new date for the presidential election would be. President Macky Sall might be attempting to extend his term by extralegal means. Senegal currently has 20 candidates running for the office of president. There could be those who conspire to reduce competition by postponing the election. The announcement caused demonstrations to break out . Dakar is seeing a growing number of protests by Senegalese who feel the government is becoming quasi-authoritarian. Senegal's stable democratic structure shielded it from the turbulence of its neighbors. Depending of the actions of President Macky Sall, ECOWAS could get involved. The West African region is going through political transformation. Senegal is just one country undergoing change.
No comments:
Post a Comment