Protests In Senegal Over Elections

• 5.02.2024, 19:13

A video fact.

In Dakar, police used tear gas to disperse protesters due to the postponement of the presidential elections. The local portal Leral.net writes about this.

Witnesses said police fired tear gas grenades to disperse protesters who threw stones and burned tires. They were arrested. Police vans were patrolling the area until 8 pm on Sunday.

The day before, on February 4, residents of Dakar took to the streets of the city to protest after a corresponding call from the opposition, writes News 24. One of the opposition leaders, Aminatou Toure, was arrested when she arrived at the rally.

Unrest in Senegal is caused by the postponement of the presidential elections, which were scheduled for February 25. Current President Macky Sall explained this decision by saying that Senegal's constitutional council did not allow several politicians to participate in the elections. In particular, the final list of twenty candidates did not include jailed opposition leader Ousmane Sonko and the son of former Senegalese President Karim Wade. These circumstances could undermine confidence in the ballots, Sall considered and decided to postpone the election date.

In this regard, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) expressed concern and called on Senegal to quickly set a new date for the elections.