After several days of widespread protests, Senegal’s top court, the Constitutional Council has annulled President Macky Sall’s decree and the contentious bill passed by parliament which shifted the presidential election to December.
The court ruled that the decision to postpone the election was unconstitutional, but as when the voting should hold the Constitutional Council said that it was “impossible” for the election to be held on the original date but urged the authorities to organize it “as soon as possible”.
According to BBC, the court decision came on the same day as several opposition politicians and civil society members were released from prison, a move widely seen as a way to appease public opinion.
Meanwhile, the ruling has attracted favorable comments from some leading opposition figures describing it as “a great day for democracy”.Aminata Toure, a former prime minister said “We’ve been so ashamed by all this violation of the law and the constitution”.
From the only female candidate, Antar Babacar “We are actually very, very proud of our Constitutional Council and it shows that there is at least a little bit of democracy and justice that’s left in our country,” she added.
There is yet no reaction from President Sall over the ruling, but a government spokesperson said it had been “noted”.
It will recalled that Mr Sall had on 3 February announced he was moving the election date from the original scheduled 25th February-because of concerns over the eligibility of opposition candidates. The plan received support from 105 out of the 165 members of parliament after a fiery debate. The initial six-month proposal was extended to ten months in a last-minute amendment, which saw police remove some opposition MPs from the chamber.
The announcement was followed by a wave of widespread protests, with Mr Sall’s critics accusing him of either trying to cling on to power or unfairly influencing whoever succeeds him.
Opposition candidates and lawmakers launched some legal challenges, calling the decision “constitutional coup”, according to Khalifa Sall, a leading opponent and former mayor of Dakar (not related to the president).Thierno Alassane Sall, another candidate also having no relation, called it “high treason”.
With this development, the challenge and top priority now is to set a new election date, as President Sall’s second term ends on 2 April.
