Rédaction Africa Links 24 with pierre Dieme
Published on 2024-02-29 13:33:58
President Macky Sall believes that he is the only one authorized to choose the date of the presidential election. From this point of view, he suggests, according to information from L’Observateur, that the appeal by FC25 asking the Constitutional Council to set the date of the election will not change anything.
This position is shared by close associates of the head of state. “If the Constitutional Council imposes a date on him, he may choose not to issue a decree to convene the electoral body. Because nothing obliges him to do so,” voices from the Palace confided to the newspaper of the Futurs Médias Group.
These sources report that at the Council of Ministers this Wednesday, “Macky Sall did not fail to point out that the electoral prerogatives attributed to the Constitutional Council [specifically that of sending Senegalese people to the polls] are not provided for anywhere. He recalled that the mission of the ‘7 Sages’ is limited to validating candidacies, resolving disputes related to the election, and publishing election results.”
L’Observateur reports that the President of the Republic went even further: “he used a threatening tone in case the Constitutional Council made a coercive decision.”
The newspaper adds: “Although he does not say it explicitly, it is reported that Macky Sall does not rule out the possibility of dissolving the judicial institution insofar as it falls within his prerogatives. Furthermore, President Sall reminded his government during the exchanges [at the Council of Ministers] that the Constitution allows him to use all powers to prevent and/or overcome crises. Macky Sall was referring to Article 52 of the Constitution, which allows him to use ‘exceptional powers’ under certain conditions.”
Participants in the national dialogue held on Monday and Tuesday have proposed the date of June 2 for the first round of the presidential election. The conclusions of these consultations will officially be submitted to the head of state next Monday. According to the statement from the Council of Ministers, the President will transmit them to the Constitutional Council for consultation.
Opposed to this proposal, most of the 19 eligible candidates for the presidential election invite the “seven Sages” to acknowledge the “deficiency” of President Macky Sall and to set the date of the election in his place.
Read the original article(French) on Dakar Matin
