The President of the Republic, Macky Sall, is to refer the matter to the Constitutional Council for an opinion on the conclusions reached at the end of the two-day national dialogue held on 26 and 27 February at Cicad. Will the 7 « Wise Men » extend President Macky Sall’s term of office or not? That is the question on the minds of most citizens.

Will the Constitutional Council endorse an extension of the term of office of the Head of State, Macky Sall, until 2 June 2024, to allow him to organise the presidential election? This is undoubtedly the question that the 7 members of the electoral court will have to answer. The President of the Republic, Macky Sall, intends to refer the matter to them for their opinion on the conclusions produced by the commission, which considered the issue during the national dialogue, the report of which will be delivered to the President of the Republic on Monday 4 March, at an audience at the Palace of the Republic. Indeed, the Constitutional Council, which had annulled the decree revoking the convening of the electoral college, had asked the competent authorities to choose a date, as it was certain that 25 February 2024, initially scheduled for the holding of the presidential election, could not be retained as the date for the organisation of the Presidential election.

End of Mandate: Macky to Leave on 2 April

The President of the Constitutional Council, Mamadou Badio Camara, and his colleagues also pointed out that the term of office of the President of the Republic, Macky Sall, was due to end on 2 April 2024. However, by validating the date of 2 June 2024, the 7 « Wise Men » will be extending President Macky Sall’s term of office.

While awaiting the opinion of the 7 members of the Constitutional Council, the Head of State, Macky Sall, is continuing to implement his ambition to bring peace to the public arena. Yesterday, the Council of Ministers adopted a bill providing amnesty for political acts committed between 2021 and 2024. It will be presented to the National Assembly as soon as possible.

New Date for the Presidential Election: The Dialogue Votes for June

President Macky Sall also asked his government to provide assistance to the families of victims of demonstrations that took place during these periods.

Some of these families have begun to express their disapproval of the new law that the government is currently drafting before submitting it to a vote in the National Assembly.

It should be remembered that these political demonstrations have cost the lives of dozens of people, caused many citizens to lose their jobs and plunged heads of families into total precariousness.

If the amnesty bill is passed by the National Assembly, there will no longer be anyone responsible for the crimes and misdemeanours committed during the years covered by the amnesty. The perpetrators of these crimes will not be held to account. In this way, everything that has been done to bring peace to the public sphere will be written off. This is what the representatives of the people are called upon to do in the coming days.

By Malick GAYE / mgaye@lequotidien.sn

  • Translation by Ndey T. SOSSEH