The Constitutional Council of Senegal has overturned Senegalese President Macky Sall's decree to postpone the presidential election that was scheduled to take place on February 25, the ruling posted by the Dakaractu news portal showed Thursday.
On February 3, Senegalese President Macky Sall postponed the presidential election indefinitely, just hours before official campaigning was due to start. The president signed the decree canceling the relevant electoral law, citing a dispute over the candidate list as the reason, and said he would launch "national dialogue to bring together the conditions for a free, transparent and inclusive election in a peaceful and reconciled Senegal."
On February 5, Senegal's parliament passed a law to postpone the presidential election to December 15, with opposition lawmakers having been forcibly removed from the legislative building before the vote, media reported.
The law passed by the country's parliament is unconstitutional, the council ruled, adding that "the decree of February 3, 2024, canceling the convening of electoral institutions to hold presidential elections on February 25, 2024, is annulled."
Senegalese news portal Senego reported that the council found it impossible to hold the presidential election on February 25 as initially scheduled. Therefore, the council's seven judges suggested that the competent authorities hold the next election as soon as possible.