Senegal's Supreme Court has rejected opposition politician Karim Wade's petition to cancel the presidential election scheduled for March 24, media reported.
According to the court ruling cited by the media, the elections will be held on the date previously approved by Senegal's Constitutional Council.
Wade, who is backed by members of his father's Senegalese Democratic Party, argued that the time between the recent announcement of the election date and polling day was insufficient, as Senegal's electoral law requires 80 days' notice and a 21-day campaign period.
Wade himself was disqualified from the election because, according to the Constitutional Council, he held French citizenship at the time of filing his candidacy and did not make the final list of 19 candidates approved by the Council.
On March 7, the Constitutional Council approved March 24 as the date for presidential elections, before rejecting the June 2 date proposed by President Macky Sall as unconstitutional because his term ends on April 2.
The June 2 date was proposed by the president in late February after two days of talks with political, religious, and civil society leaders in the capital, Dakar, aimed at ending tensions caused by the Sall's February 3 decision to postpone the vote.
In early February, the leader of the West African nation revoked a decree to convene an electoral council on February 25, meaning that presidential elections will not be held on that date, the decision that sparked protests in the country that were dispersed with tear gas and reportedly led to the arrest of opposition activists.
In mid-February, the Senegalese Constitutional Court invalidated President Sall's decree to postpone the presidential election. The court ruled that the law postponing the election was in violation of the country's constitution.