Senegal Constitutional council says elections must hold before president’s April exit, rejects June 2 proposal

In an unexpected turn of events that shook the Senegalese political scene, the country’s Constitutional Council has said the presidential election must be held before President Macky Sall’s mandate ends on April 2, rejecting the June 2 date proposed by participants at the Sall-constituted national dialogue.

The council, which is Senegal’s highest court, also rejected calls for a review of the selection of candidates, insisting that the election must be held with the 19 candidates already validated.

The country’s media regulator, The Conseil national de regulation de l’audiovisuel (CNRA), has already released a schedule that outlines activities leading up to the elections, indicating its acknowledgment of the ruling. According to CNRA, electoral campaign will be held from March 10 to 22, 2024. Each candidate will have three (03) minutes of air time per day on Radiodiffusion Télévision Sénégalaise (RTS), the country’s public broadcasting network. The first program reserved for candidates will be broadcast on Sunday March 10, 2024, produced from their declarations.

Sources say the announcement by the council brings a new dimension to the organisation of the presidential election in Senegal, presenting a major constitutional and logistical challenge in the preparations leading up to the elections.

The question many Senegalese are asking is if President Sall would comply and set a date that respects the constitution or he would resign before the end of his mandate, to activate article 31 which would trigger the vacancy, and therefore the total resumption of the electoral process.

For many of the country’s political watchers, the suspense continues.