Voters in Senegal Remain Determined to Stop the Postponement of Presidential Elections

A few hours before official campaigns for the 2024 presidential elections were scheduled to kick off in Senegal, Abdou Touré watched in shock and dread as President Macky Sallannounced a postponement of the elections initially scheduled for February 25. The 45-year-old environmental and climate activist is one of the many voters in Senegal who are wary of President Sall’s decision and have embarked on various forms of protests both online and in person, in response. “I was completely stunned,” Touré tells OkayAfrica. “And it took me a long time to say to myself, "We're not going to give up, we're going to have to fight!”

Sall, while announcing the postponement, cited an ongoing disagreement between the National Assembly and the Constitutional Court over a final, approved list of candidates set to run in the elections, as the reason for the decision. This prompted a strong rejection by opposition leaders in the presidential elections who urged citizens to rise up in defense of Senegal’s democracy; particularly Thierno Alassane Sall, a presidential aspirant from the La République des Valeurs party, who took to his X (FKA Twitter) account to share a statement asserting that President Sall had assumed powers beyond the authority of his office.

Many of the protesters and experts see President Sall’s move as an attempt at holding on to power for much longer than necessary and an affront to Senegal’s lauded democratic history. Senegal has enjoyed mostly peaceful handovers since its independence in 1960, although former presidents since Leopold Sedar Senghor, the country’s first after independence, have been known to pass laws that extend their tenure for as long as 22 years. Senegal is heavily recognized for its coup d’etat-free history, despite the many recent coups around that region, from Guinea and Burkina Faso in 2021 to Niger in 2023.

During his postponement speech, President Sall said his commitment not to run in the upcoming elections, therefore extending his tenure past the stipulated two-term limit, remains “unchanged.” He went on to promise that he would hold an open national dialogue, “to bring together the conditions for a free, transparent, and inclusive election in a peaceful and reconciled Senegal.” The Commission of the Economic Community of West African States shared its concern over the circumstances that have led to the postponement of the elections and also called for dialogue to help resolve the situation and arrive at a new date.

Days after President Sall’s announcement, lawmakers voted December 15 as the next election date. While this was ongoing, protesters, including opposition leader and presidential candidate Aminata Touré, camped outside the parliament shouting “Macky Sall is a dictator,” before clashing with the police. While some protesters were chased off the premises by the police, others, including Aminata Touré were arrested. And although some have been released, people on the ground say a number of the detainees remain in prison. “Plain-clothes policemen cordoned off the area from the assembly,” Momar Assene, a 30-year-old entrepreneur tells OkayAfrica. “They arrested young women, and cases of torture were reported. And they stopped the correspondence in prison such that the relatives of inmates can no longer call or send meals.”

At the same time, internet access was cut off, with authorities pointing to threats to public order as a reason. Even though internet access has since been restored and President Sall continues to call for dialogue, many voters still want the election to take place on February 25 as initially planned. “The consequences of holding the elections in December are enormous,” Abdou Touré, the environmental activist, says. “From an economic point of view, the whole process has to be restarted, including the printing of ballot papers, and the candidates selected to take part in the elections have already spent a lot of money.” Touré also points out that this decision weakens the Constitutional Council and sets a dangerous precedent for future presidents to carry out unconstitutional decisions.

Abdou Touré added, “Candidates who have already been validated risk being ejected from the list to allow the president to put in place a candidate who will enable him to keep his party in power.”

Many voters have taken to X to voice their frustrations over the ongoing situation, using the #FreeSenegal hashtag. But many other demonstrations are in the works. Operation Villa Morte (meaning Dead Villa), a protest movement has been launched to further express the electorate’s disapproval, demonstrators are also planning a large rally on Friday in the streets of Dakar and in other regions across the country. And on Saturday, a women's sit-in protest is set to take place to encourage the government to respect the electoral calendar.

At this time, citizens in Senegal are mostly unsure of what turn things will take and have resolved to keep fighting to maintain the country’s democratic reputation.

“We believe it is out of the question to negotiate with a government that does not respect its words and the aspirations of the population,” Touré says. “Dialogue can take place after the elections.”