PH
Senegal’s parliament voted late Monday to postpone the February 25 election and extend President Macky Sall’s mandate, which was set to expire on April 2nd.
The news hit Senegalese like a bomb, dividing them ever since.
“Like many of Senegalese, I am unhappy that Macky Sall unexpectedly delayed the presidential election. “We must regard this as a constitutional coup,” Dakar resident Adama says.
Lamine, a second resident reaffirms his belief: “I was already disappointed, and my disappointment has only grown because Macky Sall told us he had enshrined the Constitution so that no one could change it no matter what.”
“When he chose to restrict his mandate to five years, he consulted the Constitutional Council. This time, he turned to Parliament. I believe they are playing with us, Senegalese. Macky Sall is playing with the people, which is really serious.”
Even if the development appeared over the last few weeks, the shock has been difficult to bear. Dr. Mouhamed Alimou, a political scientist, believes that the current regime’s actions are undemocratic.
“This is the type of dictatorial behavior you only see in authoritarian countries. “I believe we lived in Senegal for a long time in a haven,” he says.
“People discussed Senegal’s extraordinary democracy, describing it as a beacon of stability, a pioneer of the multi-party system, and a country with freedom of speech and the press. This model has been collapsing for a while now. This is what we are dealing with, and we need to reimagine the model.
The lawmakers’ vote initiates a period of uncertainty. Everyone in Senegal is concerned about how the opposition would react. Most opposition leaders have called for a large mobilization against what they see as a misuse of power.
