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Senegal’s President Macky Sall has said he will step down at the end of his term, assuaging fears he was looking to stay on until December after his postponement of elections sparked a constitutional crisis in the west African state.
In a televised interview late on Thursday, Sall vowed to leave office at the end of his second term on April 2 but did not announce a new date for the delayed vote. The election was originally scheduled for this Sunday.
Sall had caused a constitutional crisis earlier this month when he postponed the election indefinitely over a dispute about how the presidential candidates were vetted, increasing concerns he would attempt to run for a third term.
Parliament voted two days later to ratify Sall’s decision to delay the vote and extend his tenure until December 15.
But he was left with little wriggle room after the constitutional council last week declared that the election postponement was unlawful and demanded the elections be conducted as soon as possible.
“I intend to leave my functions as president of the republic on April 2,” said Sall, adding that a new election date could be set next week after two days of national dialogue with political leaders and society groups begins on Monday. The constitutional council would be called in to determine a new date if a consensus was not reached among the interested parties, he said.
Opposition groups in Senegal have accused the president of seeking to illegally extend his term in office, an accusation he denies, and protests are planned for this weekend to keep pressure on Sall. The announcement on Thursday has been met with scepticism in some quarters, including by presidential candidate Cheikh Tidiane Dièye.
“The only request I am making to him now is to respect the decision of the constitutional council,” said Dièye on Friday, adding that Sall should “set the date of the election as soon as possible, in order to have a first and possibly a second round before April 2”. Dièye said he would not participate in the proposed dialogue.
It is unlikely a new president would be in place by the end of Sall’s tenure in April. Senegalese presidential polls usually require a run-off as a crowded field of candidates often means the frontrunner struggles to secure more than 50 per cent of the first-round vote. Nineteen candidates have been approved for this year’s election.
“It is clear that the country can’t remain without a president,” Sall said. “The dialogue will determine what happens next and I hope that after this dialogue there will be a consensus,” he said.
Under the constitution, the election must be held at least 30 days before the president vacates office and the campaign should last 21 days. The leader of Senegal’s parliament serves as interim head of state when the presidency is vacant.
