Senegal’s President Sall, finally announced 24 March, 2024, as new election date

 Abubakar Hashim

Following a series of protests, that resulted in deaths and the destruction of properties, Senegal’s President Mack Sall has finally announced 24 March 2024, as the new Presidential election date.

The announcement, by Sall, on national TV stations, yesterday, to the council of ministers, finally laid to rest, the controversy surrounding the next election date.

Opposition parties had resisted an earlier attempt to postpone the original election date of February 25 to December 2024, resulting in a series of protests and deaths on the streets of Dakar.

It was Senegal’s constitutional council that rescued the country’s enviable democratic credentials by resisting Sall’s ploy to derail democracy.

Senegal, with neighbouring Francophone countries, has powerful constitutional councils that sit on electoral disputes. The council insisted elections be held before 2 April, the date President Sall will quit power, after serving 2nd term.

Earlier yesterday, President Sall dissolved his government and replaced his Prime Minister, Amadou Ba with Interior Minister, Sidiki Kaba. Ba is the President’s anointed presidential candidate for the upcoming March 24 elections.

Sall’s strategy to replace Ba is to strengthen Ba’s electoral platform and campaign machinery, widely considered to be weak, unfocused and unpopular. This has dwindled and dissipated his chances of winning the upcoming March elections. Sall is aware of the imminent danger, so he replaced Ba with Kaba yesterday, to strengthen Ba’s position for the campaign.

Senegal, the only West African country with a history of no coups, has been the beacon and bastion of democracy in the region. This has now fallen apart!

It is hoped that the March 24 elections, just 17 days away, will restore Senegal’s past glory in a region engulfed in crises, of military coups, constitutional coups, terrorism, banditry, hyperinflation and poor service delivery systems.