Senegal: Thousands of opponents were able to march peacefully

President Macky Sall’s decision to postpone presidential elections has sparked anger among Senegalese, with the opposition denouncing a “constitutional coup d’état”.

Except that the situation seems to be calming down. On Thursday, the country’s Constitutional Council decided to invalidate the postponement of elections to December 15 and demand they be held “as soon as possible.” The decision that President Sall made.

And for the first time in two months, the government authorized a march by opponents on the streets of Dakar. Wearing black T-shirts bearing the name of the civil society collective calling for the march, “Elections Aar Sunu” (“Let’s protect our elections”) or the colors of Senegal, demonstrators waved placards that read, among other things: “Respect the electoral calendar.” , “No to constitutional coup”, “Free Senegal”.

The gendarmes who patrolled the entire march area did not wear protective equipment, unlike previous banned demonstrations.

“Today’s slogan is mobilization,” said Malik Gaku, a presidential candidate participating in the march. “The State of Senegal no longer has the right to make mistakes and must organize elections in March so that the transfer of powers between President Sall and the new president can take place on April 2,” the end date of Senegal’s mandate. head of state.

The president’s decision to defer to the Constitutional Council’s opinion “takes a lot of stress off of us,” said one of the demonstrators, Maestro El Kangam, a 34-year-old rapper dressed in Senegalese colors. He quickly adds: “Personally, I don’t trust him and I’m waiting to see if he keeps his word, and if he does, he’ll at least walk out the front door.”

Previous demonstrations against the postponement of the election and MPs’ vote to set the voting date for December 15 were banned and led to violence and numerous arrests. On February 9, three people died.