Two days after a court ruled that the election will take place on March 24, Senegalese presidential contenders began their abbreviated campaigns on Saturday, bringing weeks of uncertainty to an end and igniting a very competitive race.
Since early February, when President Macky Sall proposed delaying a referendum that was scheduled for February 25 by 10 months, there have been huge demonstrations and warnings from opponents of democratic backsliding, which have caused tensions throughout the nation. Normally one of the most stable democracies in West Africa, Senegal is home to 18 million people.
The vote needs to take place before Sall’s mandate ends on April 2, according to a ruling by the Constitutional Council, which seems to have ended the worst of the situation.
Instead of the customary 21 days, the revised timetable gives the 19 contenders little over two weeks to gather support. It also means that, starting on Sunday night, political campaigns will be held during the holy month of Ramadan for the first time in the country that is primarily Muslim.
Former mayor of Dakar’s capital and opposition candidate Khalifa Sall told Reuters, “We will have to adapt everything.”
“We were used to big gatherings, big events — it was festive — but this festive character does not fit with Ramadan, which is a time of penitence, a moment of communion.”
Additionally, the campaign period falls within the Christian season of Lent.
Sall, 62, who has served two terms in office as allowed by the constitution, announced his decision to postpone the election, citing disagreements over candidates and suspected corruption in the Constitutional Council that authorized the list. The charges have been refuted by the council.
“We need to show adaptability and creativity,” stated unrelated to the president Khalifa Sall.
“But the important thing is we have a date and we will vote.”
The charming former mayor, who was eventually pardoned after serving a jail sentence that barred him from running for president in 2019, officially began his campaign on Friday at midnight.
Calling the recent disagreement over the election date a “grave and sad thing” for a country that has held elections for 64 years, he promised to bring the divided nation back together and modernize state institutions to prevent future constitutional crises.
In addition, he pledged to strengthen fisheries, agriculture, and the emerging oil and gas sector in order to revitalize the economy.
Both Amadou Ba, the candidate of the ruling Benno Bokk Yakaar (BBY) alliance, and Anta Babacar, the opposition candidate, were scheduled to launch their campaigns later on Saturday.
Portia Crowe reported Frances Kerry handled the editing.
