ECOWAS MPs begin meetings in Senegal in efforts to end political crisis
Dakar, Senegal (PANA) – A team from the Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on Monday began a series of meetings with stakeholders in Senegal in efforts to end the raging political crisis that has led to violent protests and deaths.
The official Senegalese News Agency (APS) reported that the ECOWAS mission, which arrived on Sunday, met on Monday with the President of the National Assembly and is also due to meet with various parliamentary groups, civil society and political organizations, according to the itinerary.
There is growing concern about the unfolding political crisis in the country following the postponement of the presidential election after Parliament passed a controversial bill a week ago to postpone the presidential poll from 25 February to 15 December 2024.
The opposition has called it a "constitutional coup" and the streets are boiling with protests in which three people are reported dead.
"It is quite simply a constitutional coup d'état, orchestrated by the regime in place, in complicity with ECOWAS, the European Union," said Biram Souleye Diop, leader of the opposition parliamentary coalition, Yewwi Askan Wi.
MP and candidate for the presidential election, Thierno Alassane Sall, denounced the bill as "illegal".
On 3 February, President Mackay Sall announced that he had repealed the decree for the 25 February election pending the results of a parliamentary commission of enquiry aimed at clarifying the conditions under which certain candidacies were declared inadmissible.
Television footage has shown protesters burning tyres and other items on the streets and clashing with the police who have been firing tear gas to disperse them.
APS said the ECOWAS MPs are expected also to hold a working session with the Constitutional Council on Tuesday and pay a courtesy call on President Sall “depending on his availability”.
The delegation will leave Dakar on Thursday.
The ECOWAS Commission, the United States, African Union Commission, European Commission and Gambia are among organizations and countries that have expressed alarm at the crisis and called for the restoration of the electoral calendar.
The ECOWAS Commission has advised against "any action or statement that may contravene the provisions of the constitution of the country".
It also reminded the population and the political class of their responsibility to maintain peace and stability.
"The ECOWAS Commission encourages the political class to take steps urgently to restore the electoral calendar in accordance with the provisions of Senegal's Constitution.
"In these trying times for the country and the region, the commission calls on all stakeholders to shun violence and all other actions that may further disturb the peace and stability of the country."
ECOWAS also urged the law enforcement agencies to exercise utmost restraint and protect the fundamental rights of all citizens.
The United States said it was "deeply concerned" by actions taken to delay the election, which run contrary to Senegal’s strong democratic tradition.
"We are particularly alarmed by reports of security forces removing by force parliamentarians who opposed a bill to delay the election, resulting in a National Assembly vote that cannot be considered legitimate given the conditions under which it took place."
The US urged the Government to "move forward with its presidential election in accordance with the Constitution and electoral laws".
The African Union Commission in a statement called for a resolution of any political dispute "through consultation, understanding and civilized dialogue, in strict compliance with the principles which govern the rule of law of which the country has a deep-rooted historical tradition".
President Sall's second term officially ends on 2 April and he has said he will not seek a third term.
The initial bill called for the postponement of the election by six months but a late amendment on 5 February postponed the election to 15 December.
The bill required three-fifths of the 165 deputies to be adopted and 105 MPs passed it plunging the country into a period of uncertainty.
There are fears that the country would once again experience bloody protests that followed the sentencing of opposition leader, Ousmane Sonko, to two years in prison for "corrupting youth" that claimed the lives of 16 people while hundreds of others were injured.
Samira Daoud, Director of Amnesty International’s Regional Office for West and Central Africa, has called on the authorities and security forces to respect and protect the right to peaceful assembly and refrain from resorting to excessive use of force.
“The government’s abrupt shutdown of internet access via mobile data and Walf TV’s broadcasting, along with the revocation of its licence, constitutes a blatant assault on the right to freedom of expression and press rights protected by Senegal’s constitution and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
"The Senegalese authorities must urgently protect and uphold peoples’ right to information."
Daoud said the authorities must also ensure that demonstrators and political opposition figures are not arbitrarily arrested at demonstrations.
Amnesty International said between March 2021 and August 2023, at least 56 people were killed by the Senegalese police and gendarmerie during demonstrations. To date, no one has been prosecuted for these deaths.
-0- PANA MA/RA 12Feb2024
