Nairobi — Senegal should hold presidential elections as soon as possible, the AU said, days after President Macky Sall delayed the February 25 vote to an unspecified date.
Senegal has never delayed a presidential election, and Sall’s announcement on Saturday pitched the country into uncharted constitutional waters that some opposition and civil society groups said amounted to an “institutional coup”.
AU Commission chair Moussa Faki Mahamat said in a statement on Sunday that Senegal should “organise the elections as soon as possible, in transparency, peace and national harmony”.
“It [the AU] strongly encourages all political and social forces to resolve any political dispute through civilised consultation, understanding and dialogue,” the statement added.
Senegal’s legislators are due to debate on Monday a proposal to hold the vote on August 25 and keep Sall in power until his successor is installed, according to the text of a bill seen by Reuters.
Reuters
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