A former minister and mayor of Dakar, Khalifa Sall, has revealed that President Macky Sall’s postponement of presidential election amounts to an illegal way of extnding his tenure beyond two terms.
The former minister stated that the presidential election which was scheduled to hold on February 25, but was postponed by the president is a coup d’état that allows the president an illegitimate third term in office.
The former mayor who is also the leader of Manko Taxawu Sénégal, said, “The debate on postponement has been ongoing for several months within the presidential majority. But as the presidential election is a sacred institution in Senegal, respected by all, I always thought President Sall would never touch it. Particularly because, despite the troubles, the presidential election has always been held on time in our country.”
Khalifa, in an interview on Thursday said, “It is a coup d’état that doesn’t speak its name. With the change in the law, he (President Sall) is entering a third term of office, even if it will be incomplete.
“Since he will be president after April 2, he is violating essential provisions of the constitution and the Electoral Code,”
Recall that on Monday, the military forced opposition members out of the national assembly, leaving 105 members of parliament to vote in support of Mr Sall’s election postponement, delaying the polls till December 15.
Senegal’s election postponement has generated local and international condemnation, with the U.S., EU and ECOWAS calling for urgent solutions to the lingering political crisis in the country.
