The presidential election slated for February 25 has been postponed from Monday to December 15. This came after the parliament’s unanimous decision to drag the election backwards.
However, this decision came at the expense of opposition lawmakers who were not allowed to vote as they never agreed with the President on it.
It was reported that the president used armed forces on the opposition lawmakers by not allowing them to take part in the voting process which turned out well for the president.
The president administration which was supposed to end on the 2nd of April has been given an additional 8 months in office.
Internet access in the country was restricted on Monday due to the growing interest the protesters against the postponement are getting.
The bill was strongly condemned by protesters outside the house and on the streets but it turned out to be chaotic as armed forces were used on them.
Two major opposition parties filed a petition contending the postponement on Monday. We await the response from Senegal’s Constitutional Council.
Political researchers and critics across the continent have said that the ongoing crisis the country is facing as one of the democratic states is a tough test in the present time coups are rising on the continent.
However, the president said that the questions surrounding the two opposition candidates and the disagreement between the parliament and Judiciary as regards them is the reason for the delay.
He also went further by saying the dual-nationality of some candidates has put the country in a “serious and confusing situation” but the opposition parties are strongly against the decision, they called it a “coup”.
The A.U has stepped into the matter, calling everyone involved for resolution and also calling the President to conduct the election “as soon as possible”;
to resolve any political dispute through consultation, understanding and civilized dialogue.
A.U said
One of the opposition lawmakers who was not allowed to vote has called on the people to take action;
”We will not accept a constitutional coup in this country. It is up to the people to come out and liberate themselves,
Guy Marius Sagna, an activist said
A private terrestrial media network, Walf Television, who have their signal cut off has come out to say the suspension is off.
In addition, the Senegalese Ministry of Communication said the reason for the suspension of internet services was because of the treasonable messages and the likes conveyed through the media networks
“due to the dissemination of several hateful and subversive messages relayed on social networks in the context of threats and disturbances to public order”
the Ministry said
Amnesty International also came out to condemn the act saying it was an assault on freedom of expression backed by Senegal’s Media constitution;
The government’s abrupt shutdown of internet access via mobile data and Walf TV’s broadcasting … constitutes a blatant assault on the right to freedom of expression and press rights protected by Senegal’s constitution”,
Amnesty International’s regional office for West and Central Africa said
It has been a hot ground politically in Senegal since last year as the government also suspended internet access on telephones last year June.
This was a result of the clash between supporters of Ousmane Sonko, a presidential candidate at the time, and the security agencies. He was disqualified last month by the electoral body.
Mucahid Durmaz, a senior analyst at global risk consultancy Verisk Maplecroft said the President’s step in shifting the election backward “reflects a sharp democratic decline” in the state. It also has a bad image for the country as it also enhances anti-democratic processes in the region.
Durmaz said
“The growing democracy deficit not only threatens to tarnish Senegal’s reputation as a beacon of democratic stability in the region but also emboldens anti-democratic practices in West Africa
