DAKAR, Senegal: Hundreds of people protested in Senegal’s capital Dakar on Saturday, demanding that presidential elections be held by April 2, the end of Macy’s term.
The West African country plunged into political crisis on February 3 after postponing presidential elections scheduled for February 25.
The postponement was denounced by opposition parties as an “illegal coup” and sparked widespread protests that left four people dead.
The Constitutional Council finally rejected Saro and since then the country has been waiting for a new date.
The Resistance Front, a coalition of opposition parties and civil society groups, had called for Saturday’s protests.
Hundreds of people gathered on a sandy beach in a working-class neighborhood, waving Senegalese flags and portraits of jailed opposition leader Ousmane Sonko. Sonko has been in prison since July on charges of “inciting rebellion” and is barred from running for president.
Sonko supports Basilou Diomai Faye, who is also imprisoned but allowed to vote.
The crowd roared “Macky Sall dictator” and “Free Sonko”.
“What we are asking President Macky Sall is to organise these elections before April 2 and to give the keys to the palace to his successor face to face, so that we can begin to rebuild our country,” said a former Prime Minister and member of the “Bassirou President” coalition, Aminata Toure.
A national dialogue, organised at the start of the week by Sall but boycotted by the opposition, had suggested holding the polls on June 2. The president indicated that he would ask the constitutional council for its opinion on the request.
