15 presidential candidates lament delay in setting new election date in Senegal

President Macky Sall of Senegal has been accused of “ill will” by fifteen candidates in the country’s delayed presidential election.

The candidates also noted that they would take action to ensure a new poll date is agreed on and announced immediately.

The development came as the civil society collective Aar Sunu Election (Protect Our Election) said it had organised a new rally for Saturday.

The collective is calling for an election to be held before April 2, when Sall’s term officially runs out.

It asserted that the vote which was originally scheduled for February 25 must be held by March 3 at the latest.

The statement reads: “An inexplicable slowness has been noted. Nothing has been done” despite developments over the past week, the 15 candidates said in a joint statement released late on Tuesday.

“Everything is moving at the pace of President Macky Sall’s ill will.”

Sall’s last-minute delay to the February vote plunged Senegal into its worst political crisis in decades and ignited unrest during which three people were killed.

The opposition denounced the move as a “constitutional coup.”

However, last week, Senegal’s Constitutional Council overturned the vote delay and called on the president to organise the poll “as soon as possible.”

It left open the question of when the election will be organised.

The candidates said: “Everything suggests that Macky Sall cannot come to terms with the fact that his attempt to sabotage the presidential election was thwarted by the Constitutional Council and the people.”

They announced “a series of actions aimed at ensuring that the election is held within the allotted time,” they added.