Senegal president calls off February 25 election

Senegalese President Macky Sall on Saturday announced the indefinite postponement of the presidential election scheduled for February 25, just hours before official campaigning was due to start.

Senegal's President Macky Sall AFP - EVGENY BIATOV

In an address to the nation, Sall said he signed a decree abolishing a previous measure that set the date as lawmakers investigate two Constitutional Council judges whose integrity in the election process has been questioned.

With little over three weeks until the vote, Senegal's🇸🇳 President Macky Sall has postponed the presidential election scheduled for February 25 following a dispute over the candidate list.

There's a dispute over how the contenders of the presidential election were validated.… pic.twitter.com/eP0iLuJgfb

— Kennedy Wandera (@KennedyWandera_) February 3, 2024

"I will begin an open national dialogue to bring together the conditions for a free, transparent and inclusive election," Sall added without giving a new date.

It is the first time a Senegalese presidential election has been postponed.

A November 2023 decree signed by Sall fixed the election for February 25, with 20 candidates in the running but without two major opposition figures.

Sall had repeatedly said he would hand over power in early April to the winner of the vote.

After announcing he would not run for a third term as president, Sall designated Prime Minister Amadou Ba from his party as his would-be successor.

The Constitutional Council has excluded dozens of candidates from the vote, including firebrand anti-system figurehead Ousmane Sonko and Karim Wade, son of former president Abdoulaye Wade.

(With newswires)