Senegal’s Macky Sall postpones presidential election

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The vote was scheduled to take place on February 25.

Senegal’s President Macky Sall has postponed the presidential election that was scheduled to take place on February 25.

Speaking in a televised address to the nation on Saturday, the president announced he had cancelled the relevant electoral law, citing a dispute over the candidate list.

Sall said he signed a decree abolishing a previous measure that had set the date.

“I will initiate an open national dialogue to bring together the conditions for a free, transparent and inclusive election in a peaceful and reconciled Senegal,” he added.

The announcement comes as lawmakers investigate two Constitutional Council judges whose integrity in the election process has been questioned.

Last month, election authorities excluded some opposition members from the list of candidates.

One candidate who was not allowed to take part requested a delay of the vote. But another party has said pausing the election would be what it calls “an institutional coup d’etat”.

President Sall has said he will not run for a third term, a point he reiterated on Saturday. “As for me, my solemn commitment not to run for the presidential election remains unchanged,” he said.

More to come…