Senegalese President Sall pledges to leave office on 2 April
Dakar, Senegal (PANA) - Senegalese President Macky Sall pledged on Thursday to leave office at the end of his mandate on 2 April, as the crisis triggered by his decree to call off the 25 February presidential election has still yet to be solved.
"I plan to leave my position as President of the Republic on April 2," the Senegalese Press Agency (APS) quoted him as saying in an interview with four Senegalese media groups.
Macky Sall said he refused "to be tempted by a third term".
"I don't deserve this nauseating international campaign. I didn't break any rules. I am a free man," he said.
A national dialogue scheduled to begin on Monday is expected to set a new date for the polls.
The President said the dialogue he called for should make it possible to determine what should happen, cautioning that the country cannot remain without a president.
"The dialogue will have to decide and make a proposal. If a consensus can be reached on what to do next, it is desirable. I hope that the actors who must come around and we will look at the best interests of the nation."
"It will be up to the Constitutional Council to say what must be done and everyone will have to agree to it," President Sall said.
He also expressed his desire to create the conditions for appeasement, reconciliation, peace, a transparent and free presidential election.
"We want to create the conditions for appeasement, reconciliation and a transparent, free and democratic presidential election, and which will ensure the continuation towards a stable and peaceful Senegal," he said.
President Sall had justified his decision to delay the election citing suspicions of corruption concerning magistrates among those who examined the 93 applications for election and deemed 20 of them admissible.
He called for “an open national dialogue, in order to create the conditions for a free, transparent and inclusive election in a peaceful Senegal”.
Parliament then voted to delay the election until 15 December in a chaotic session during which security forces removed opposition lawmakers.
Demonstrations broke out in the capital, Dakar, as well as Mbour, Mbacké, Tivaoune, Touba, Saint-Louis, and Ziguinchor, with security forces apparently using excessive force to disperse protesters. The internet was cut off for several days. Three people died in the protests.
The Constitutional Council then struck down as "unconstitutional" the controversial law by Parliament postponing the poll from 25 February to 15 December.
It also cancelled the decree by President Sall that repealed a law under which the election was scheduled for 25 February, and asked the authorities to organise the election as soon as possible.
There was international condemnation of President Sall's decision and a flurry of diplomatic activities to ease tension in the West African country with the President pledging to abide by the verdict of the Constitutional Council.
-0- PANA MA 23Feb2024
