The Commission of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has expressed concerns about the Senegalese authorities’ decision to postpone their presidential elections, which were scheduled for February 25, 2024.
Senegal’s President Macky Sall, in a televised address to Senegalese nationals on Saturday, indefinitely postponed the presidential elections, citing a dispute over the candidate list [electoral roll].
President Sall’s announcement follows the exclusion of some opposition candidates’ names from the candidate list by the Constitutional Council in January.
The decision by the Constitutional Council has brought the electoral process into disrepute, hence forcing the president, who envisages free and fair elections, to cancel the scheduled 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,” President Sall said.
In a communiqué issued by the Commission of the Economic Community of West African States on February 3, 2024, in Abuja, Nigeria, it decried the circumstances that led to the postponement of the elections.
ECOWAS appealed to Senegal’s authorities to expedite processes to set a new date for the elections, urging the entire political class to prioritize dialogue and collaboration for transparent, inclusive, and credible elections.
“The Commission of the Economic Community of West African States takes note of the decision that the Senegalese authorities have taken to postpone the presidential elections scheduled to take place on 25 February 2024. The ECOWAS Commission expresses concern over the circumstances that have led to the postponement of the elections and appeals to the competent authorities to expedite the various processes in order to set a new date for the elections.”
ECOWAS applauded the outgoing President Macky Sall for sticking to his earlier decision not to seek re-election.
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