Senegal : The people And The Police Clash Over Indefinite Elections Postponement.
Police in Senegal cracked down on protests in the capital Dakar and at least one senior opposition figure was arrested a day after President Macky Sall announced the indefinite postponement of the presidential election scheduled for February 25.
The European Union on Sunday said the postponement opens a “period of uncertainty”, and the United States called for a swift new date for free polls.
In a televised address to the nation, Sall announced on Saturday that he had cancelled the relevant electoral law, citing a dispute over the candidate list.
He said he signed a decree abolishing a November 2023 measure that had set the original election date, but did not give a new date. Last month, Senegal’s Constitutional Council excluded some prominent opposition members from the list of candidates.
Hundreds of men and women of all ages took to the streets on Sunday, heeding the call of some opposition candidates.
Former Prime Minister Aminata Toure, now a leading opposition figure, was arrested while arriving at one protest, she posted on X. She served as premier under Sall before joining the opposition and becoming one of his most outspoken critics.
Protests are still ongoing in various villages and also very vibrant on the social media space.