In Senegal, Macky Sall should stay one more year in power

The opposition, present during the debates and who tried to prevent the vote on this bill, was finally expelled manu militari from the enclosure by the police, while clashes took place between deputies .

During this very tense evening, an alliance of 105 deputies from the presidential camp and supporters of the failed candidate (due to dual Franco-Senegalese nationality) Karim Wade approved the retention in his post of President Macky Sall until the installation of his successor, very likely in 2025 with the possibility of a second round and the deadlines for the transfer of power.

The mandate of Mr. Sall, elected in 2012 and re-elected in 2019, expired on April 2. According to several experts, this extension, even voted for by deputies, is illegal. A situation which arises from a text voted in 2016 at the request of Macky Sall who wanted to put an end to repeated debates on the length of the presidential mandate. The text provides that the National Assembly is not empowered to modify this provision.

This forceful passage by Macky Sall is presented as a “constitutional coup d’état” by most of the presidential candidates who still hope for a rapid return to the original timetable. They are also followed by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) which also called for the presidential election initially scheduled for February 25 to be urgently reinstated.

A request that should not be followed up on. President Macky Sall, helped by the polls, seems to have realized that his heir apparent, Amadou Bâ, current Prime Minister, is largely defeated in the face of Bassirou Diomane Faye, qualified by the Constitutional Court and candidate dubbed by his main opponent Ousmane Sonko. What could make the president want to reclassify Karim Wade, who is much less aggressive towards him?