by Ngouda Dione and Cooper Inveen
DAKAR (Reuters) – A student was killed during a demonstration against the postponement of the Senegalese presidential election on Friday in Saint-Louis, while violent clashes also broke out between security forces and protesters in Dakar, the government confirmed on Saturday. Ministry of the Interior.
These were the first major demonstrations since President Macky Sall announced a week ago the indefinite postponement of the presidential election, which was to be held on February 25.
In a press release, the Ministry of the Interior said it had been informed of the death of Alpha Yéro Tounkara in Saint-Louis, while denying any responsibility of the security forces, the latter having according to it “not intervened” to maintain the order on the campus where the death of the 22-year-old young man occurred.
“The hearts of all democrats bleed after these clashes caused by the unjustified suspension of the electoral process,” declared opposition leader Khalifa Sall, who described the recent events as an “institutional coup.”
In Dakar, Senegalese police used tear gas and stun grenades and fired what appeared to be rubber bullets to disperse hundreds of angry demonstrators, a Reuters journalist noted.
Some demonstrators waved Senegalese flags, while others chanted “Macky Sall is a dictator.”
“We are ready to give our lives so that the people are freed, so that Senegal gets rid of Macky Sall,” said a protester standing near a pile of burning tires.
Clashes also took place between police and demonstrators in other cities in Senegal, notably in Touba, in the center of the country, in Thiès, east of Dakar, in Richard Toll, in the north of the country, and in Kolda, in the south, according to residents and messages posted on social networks.
Macky Sall, who pledged not to seek a third term during the election, justified his postponement by disputes over candidacies and accusations of alleged corruption against two members of the Constitutional Council.
(With the contribution of Diadie Ba, written by Nellie Peyton and Alessandra Prentice; French version Camille Raynaud and Tangi Salaün)
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