International community calls for new date and transparent polls after president announces indefinite delay.

“The European Union … calls on all actors to work … for the staging of a transparent, inclusive and credible election as soon as possible,” EU spokesperson Nabila Massrali said in a statement on Sunday.

On Saturday, Senegal’s President Macky Sall indefinitely postponed the election scheduled for February 25.

In a televised address to the nation, Sall announced he had cancelled the relevant electoral law, citing a dispute over the candidate list.

He said he signed a decree abolishing a November 2023 measure that had set the original election date, but did not give a new date.

Last month, Senegal’s Constitutional Council excluded some prominent opposition members from the list of candidates.

France, the former colonial power in the country, called for a vote “as soon as possible”, saying that Senegal should end “uncertainty”.

“We call on authorities to end the uncertainty about the electoral calendar so the vote can be held as soon as possible, under the rules of Senegalese democracy,” the French foreign ministry said in a statement.

Opposition presidential candidates called for demonstrations in the capital on Sunday. They also said they would launch their campaigns in defiance of the postponement.

Senegal has traditionally been seen as a rare example of democratic stability in West Africa, which has been hit by a series of coups in recent years including in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso.

‘Inclusive and credible elections’

The US Department of State noted Senegal’s “strong tradition of democracy and peaceful transitions of power” and urged “all participants in [the] electoral process to engage peacefully to swiftly set a new date and the conditions for a timely, free and fair election”.

Senegalese politicians must “prioritise dialogue and collaboration for transparent, inclusive and credible elections”, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) bloc said in a statement that called on authorities to “expedite the various processes to set a new date for the elections”.

Opponents suspect that the president’s camp fear the defeat of his anointed successor, Prime Minister Amadou Ba.

Senegal cannot “indulge in a fresh crisis” after deadly political violence in March 2021 and June 2023, Sall said on Saturday as he announced a “national dialogue” to organise “a free, transparent and inclusive election”.

The country’s electoral code states that at least 80 days must pass between the announcement of a new presidential vote and polling day – theoretically putting the soonest possible new date in late April at the earliest.

Sall’s presidential term is supposed to end on April 2.

Analysts say the crisis is putting one of Africa’s most stable democracies to the test at a time when the region is struggling with the recent surge in coups.

Senegal has been embroiled in political tensions as a result of deadly clashes involving opposition supporters and the disqualification of two opposition leaders ahead of the crucial vote.