Senegal’s president, Macky Sall, has announced the indefinite postponement of a presidential election scheduled for 25 February a few hours before official campaigning was due to start, provoking anger from opposition figures and a ministerial resignation.
In an address to the nation on Saturday, Sall said he had postponed the vote that would have decided his successor because of a dispute between the national assembly and constitutional court over the rejection of candidates.
Lawmakers are investigating two constitutional council judges whose integrity in the election process has been questioned.
“I will begin an open national dialogue to bring together the conditions for a free, transparent and inclusive election,” Sall added, without giving a new date.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Senegal’s president, Macky Sall, has announced the indefinite postponement of a presidential election scheduled for 25 February a few hours before official campaigning was due to start, provoking anger from opposition figures and a ministerial resignation.
“I will begin an open national dialogue to bring together the conditions for a free, transparent and inclusive election,” Sall added, without giving a new date.
The west African bloc Ecowas expressed “concern over the circumstances that have led to the postponement of the elections”, calling for dialogue and an expedited process to set a new date.
The US state department also urged Senegal to “swiftly” set a date for a “timely, free and fair election”.
A November 2023 decree signed by Sall had set the election for 25 February with 20 candidates in the running but two major opposition figures excluded.
Sall had designated the prime minister, Amadou Ba, from his party as his would-be successor after announcing he would not run for a third term.
The original article contains 343 words, the summary contains 163 words. Saved 52%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!