Updated 04.52 | Published 02.06
unsaveSave
expand-left
full screen Riot police in Dakar fired tear gas at protesters on Sunday. Photo: Stefan Kleinowitz/AP/TT
The presidential election in Senegal is postponed until December, the country’s parliament decides late on Monday.
Something like this has never before happened in the country, which is usually considered something of a stable beacon in West Africa.
Elections were originally supposed to be held on February 25, but on Saturday, incumbent President Macky Sall – who will now remain in office – announced that this will not be the case.
Ahead of parliament’s decision, which was reached unanimously after opposition members were forced out of the chamber, protesters took to the streets of the capital Dakar to show their displeasure – which was met with tear gas from police.
– The situation is completely catastrophic, the image of Senegal has been destroyed and I don’t think we will get out of this democratic ruin, says opposition politician Ayib Daffe after the vote.
On Monday, the government blocked access to mobile internet to, according to its own statement, stop “hateful and socially dangerous messages” from being shared. The same thing happened in June last year, and the government then stated that similar reasons were behind its actions.
Senegal has never experienced a military coup since independence from France in 1960, making it an outlier in a region plagued by recurring coups.
The election delay has been met with international concern and the US, the EU and France are urging the country’s government to hold the election as quickly as possible.