“Baffled by what's going on”: Archbishop in Senegal on Postponing General Elections

Dakar, 05 February, 2024 / 9:00 PM

The decision to postpone the general elections in Senegal, previously scheduled to take place on February 25, is difficult to comprehend, Archbishop Benjamin Ndiaye of the country’s Dakar Archdiocese has said. 

Addressing journalists on the sidelines of the celebration of the 175th anniversary of the erection of St. Francis Xavier Joal-Fadiouth Parish of his Metropolitan See, Archbishop Ndiaye weighed in on President Macky Sall’s February 3 announcement.

Tension has been mounting in Senegal following the Constitutional Council’s decision to exclude several candidates from the election, including opposition figures Ousmane Sonko and Karim Wade.

In July 2023, President Sall announced that he would not be seeking re-election in the Presidential elections.

In the February 3 televised address, President Sall announced the postponement of the presidential elections, citing “controversies over the disqualification of some candidates and allegations of corruption in election-related cases,” Africa News reported.

The Senegalese President, who did not indicate a new date for the poll has been quoted as saying, "For my part, my solemn commitment not to run in the presidential election remains unchanged, finally, I will engage in an open national dialogue to bring together the conditions for a free, transparent and inclusive election."

Archbishop Ndiaye told journalists during the February 4 press conference that he was “baffled by what's going on”, and added, “It's important that we strive for national cohesion. Institutions must be respected in their mission if we are to move forward together.”

He expressed his disapproval of the decision to postpone the poll, describing the President’s announcement as a “technique of circumvention”.

“Senegalese people must avoid the technique of circumvention,” the Catholic Church leader said, adding, “When there is a rule, it's so that it can be followed, not so that we can pass to the right or to the left.”

He emphasized, “If we respect the rules, we can move forward.”

“We constantly wish for peace. But this peace needs to be rebuilt, and that requires truth in words and deeds,” the Local Ordinary of Dakar Archdiocese said.

He went on to challenge the political leadership in the West African nation to prioritize the common good, saying, “What can I do to comply with the law and build my nation, my society? That must be the concern of all of us, not individual interests.”

Archbishop Ndiaye expressed his reluctance to weigh in on President Sall's call for dialogue after announcing the postponement of the general elections, saying that what is important is that “Senegal lives according to its constitution.”

“I don't want to get into considerations that are out of my hands. But everything we can say and do must correspond to the constitution we have adopted as citizens of this country,” he said.