Postponement of presidential elections in Senegal: student killed, demonstrations brutally dispersed

Senegal appears to be plunging into crisis following the announcement of a controversial postponement of presidential elections. Demonstrations against the postponement and the authority of President Macky Sall took place on Friday in Dakar, as well as in several cities across the country. They were brutally dispersed. In Saint-Louis, in the north of the country, second-year geography student Alpha Yoro Tounkara was killed.

“He was not only a brilliant student, but also a beloved and respected comrade. His warm presence and his infectious enthusiasm will be missed by all who were lucky enough to know him,” writes Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba Diouf, president of the Geography Club of Gaston Berger University, where the young man studied.

In Dakar, police used tear gas extensively to disperse hundreds of people who tried to gather near Place de la Nation. The authorities have blocked access. Highways and major routes were also closed. In response, protesters threw stones and erected barricades using makeshift objects, including planks and stones, and set tires on fire.

The mobilization across Senegal is the first major protest since the postponement of the vote, announced by Macky Sall just three weeks before the deadline, in the midst of a political battle over candidates retained or rejected for the vote. The National Assembly approved on Monday the extension until December 15 and also voted to keep Macky Sall in power until his successor takes office. These decisions ushered in a serious political crisis in Senegal and plunged the country into a period of uncertainty.

Journalists are persecuted

Reporters Without Borders was “outraged” by police attacks on at least five journalists during demonstrations in Dakar. YouSeneweb journalist brutally arrested According to the NGO, he was hospitalized due to discomfort. Another Enquête newspaper journalist was shot in the jaw, and tear gas was aimed in particular at the headquarters of the private television station Walf TV, which authorities recently revoked its license.

At the Masjidunnour Mosque in Dakar, during the great Muslim Friday prayer, Imam Ahmed Dame Ndiaye protested against the political situation. “Even the president can make mistakes, in which case we must tell him the truth,” he said, adding that “no one has the right to watch society being destroyed.”

In the morning, teachers set the tone with school strikes. At Blaise Diagne secondary school in Dakar, hundreds of students left classes at 10 am. “This is just the beginning of the fight. If the government persists, we will be forced to take other actions,” Assan Sene, a professor of history and geography at the institution, told AFP.

The next demonstration is scheduled for Tuesday

The postponement of the presidential election by 10 months sparked outrage that spread widely on social media. The opposition is calling for a “constitutional coup.” She suspects a plot aimed at avoiding the defeat of the presidential candidate or even keeping President Sall at the head of the country for a few more years.

A group of 14 opposition candidates filed an appeal in the Supreme Court this afternoon. Attempts to demonstrate after the postponement were announced were suppressed and dozens of people were arrested. Since 2021, dozens of people have been killed and hundreds arrested during various protest episodes.

The Aar Sunu Élection (Let’s Defend Our Elections) collective, which is planning another demonstration on Tuesday, insisted it wanted to protest peacefully. A dozen candidates opposed to the calendar change, out of 20 selected by the Constitutional Council, expressed a desire for rapprochement with civil society.