Senegal panel proposes delayed polls be held on 2 June

Tensions continue to prevail in Senegal where the date of postponed election is still not announced. Amid this, a two-day long dialogue was organised by President Macky Sall after which Senegal’s national dialogue commission proposed delayed presidential polls to be held on June 2.

The commission member Ndiawar Paye also said it has recommended Sall to remain in office until his successor is sworn in.

A Reuters report quoted Paye saying the recommendation will be sent to Sall who will make the final decision on the date of voting in Senegal.

When will Senegal poll date be announced?

Paye said it was not known if Sall would accept the recommendation of holding the elections on June 2, but his decision could come on Tuesday or Wednesday.

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Why June 2 has been recommended for Senegal election?

Paye said the month of May has a number of religious festivals, so the elections could not be held then. Therefore, the commission agreed that early June was the most feasible time for the vote.

The original postponement of the election was legally challenged. The top constitutional authority ruled the delay unlawful and asked Sall to find a new date at the earliest.

Meanwhile, it is still unclear how the opposition will respond to the proposed date of election in Senegal.

The talks in the capital Dakar were boycotted by many of the opposition some of whom want the vote to be held before Sall’s mandate expires on April 2.

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Senegal has been thrown into an unprecedented political crisis after Sall postponed the election which was initially scheduled for February 25.

Sall and his parliament’s failed bid to postpone the February 25 poll by 10 months sparked unrest and warnings of democratic backsliding in one of coup-hit West Africa’s more stable democracies.

With inputs from Reuters