Police are fighting with Senegalese protesters who are complaining about the postponement of the presidential election
Supporters of opposition parties and police have clashed in Senegal's capital Dakar after President Macky Sall announced the indefinite postponement of the presidential election scheduled for February 25, causing international concern.
On Sunday, in response to the call of some opposition candidates, hundreds of men and women of all ages, waving Senegalese flags or wearing the jersey of the country's national soccer team gathered in the early afternoon at a roundabout on one of the roads main of the capital Dakar. The police confronted the protesters by firing tear gas and then chased the protesters who were running through the adjoining streets, while some protesters responded by throwing stones. Apart from that, the Senegalese security forces have arrested the presidential candidate Anta Babacar Ngom near the protest area. This has been explained by his campaign manager. Just one day before the start of the official campaign, President Sall plunged the nation into an unknown fate, when he announced that he had decided to intervene because of the dispute between Parliament and the Constitutional Court regarding the rejection of some candidates. MPs are investigating two judges of the Constitutional Court whose integrity in the election process has been questioned. President Macky Sall "I will initiate an open national dialogue to bring together the conditions for free, open and inclusive elections," President Sall said on Saturday without specifying a new date for the elections. The presidential candidates have said they will launch their campaigns on Sunday in defiance of the official order to postpone the election. The opposition party RFM has said it opposes "procedurally" the postponement of the presidential election. "We will meet with all the people of Senegal this Sunday for a protest," said the party's spokesperson Cheikh Tidiane Youm. Habib Sy, one of the 20 candidates, has said that the opposition parties have met and agreed to launch their election campaigns together. Another opponent, the former mayor of Dakar Khalifa Sall, has called on the democratic forces to unite. "All of Senegal must stand together," said Sall in front of the press. Sall, who has no dynastic ties to the country's president, has denounced what he called a "constitutional coup" by a leader who "dreams of staying forever". The United States, the European Union and France have called for the new election date to be as early as possible. The Economic Community of West African States ECOWAS has expressed its "concern" with the decision of President Sall and called for negotiations.../
