ECOWAS Commission 'concerned' about postponement of Senegalese presidential poll
Abuja, Nigeria (PANA) - The Commission of the West African sub-regional bloc, ECOWAS, says it has taken note of the decision of the Senegalese authorities to postpone the presidential election scheduled for 25 February 2024 and urged them to expedite action to set a new date for the vote.
A statement posted on its website said the Commission of the Economic Community of West African States was concerned about the circumstances that led to the postponement of the election and "appeals to the competent authorities to expedite the various processes in order to set a new date for the election".
It said the Commission further urges the "entire political class to prioritize dialogue and collaboration for transparent, inclusive and credible election".
"The ECOWAS Commission salutes President Macky Sall for upholding his previous decision not to run for another term, and encourages him to continue to defend and protect Senegal's longstanding democratic tradition."
President Sall announced on Saturday that he had repealed the decree calling for elections on 25 February, pending the results of a parliamentary commission of enquiry aimed at clarifying the conditions under which certain candidacies were declared inadmissible.
The opposition Senegalese Democratic Party (PDS) requested and obtained the setting up of a parliamentary commission of enquiry following the invalidation of Karim Wade's candidacy in the presidential election on the grounds of dual nationality.
Wade, the son of a former president of Senegal, said last month that he had renounced his French nationality to pave the way for him to run in the presidential election.
He is seen as one of the front-runners in the election.
Wade said that France’s interior minister confirmed his renunciation.
The PDS of former President Abdoulaye Wade, has levelled accusations of corruption against certain members of the Constitutional Council, which is responsible for examining candidates for the election.
In a radio and television broadcast, President Sall referred to the "open conflict" and "dispute" between the National Assembly and the Constitutional Council "against the backdrop of an alleged case of corruption of judges".
He noted, however, that the Constitutional Council, in its communiqué of 29 January 2024 signed by all its members, "refuted the allegations made against it, while appreciating the seriousness of the accusations, and insisting that all light be shed in compliance with the constitutional and legal procedures governing relations between institutions, in particular the separation of powers and the status of its members".
In addition to this sufficiently serious and confusing situation, there was the controversy surrounding a candidate whose dual nationality was discovered after the publication of the final list of candidates by the Constitutional Council, he said.
This, according to President Sall, "constitutes a violation of Article 28 of the Constitution, which stipulates that 'all candidates for the Presidency of the Republic must be of Senegalese nationality only.'"
According to President Sall, these "troubled conditions could seriously undermine the credibility of the election by sowing the seeds of pre- and post-election disputes".
"At a time when it still bears the scars of the violent demonstrations of March 2021 and June 2023, our country cannot afford another crisis."
He added: "In my capacity as President of the Republic, guarantor of the proper functioning of the institutions and respectful of the separation of powers, I cannot intervene in the conflict between the legislative and judicial branches."
He pointed out that the National Assembly, "acting by virtue of its prerogatives", had referred to him for an opinion, in accordance with its rules of procedure, a constitutional bill under urgent procedure derogating from the provisions of article 31 of the Constitution".
-0- PANA MA/RA 4Feb2024
