Senegalese organizations urged President Macky Sall on Thursday (October 27th) to dispel doubts and openly declare that he would not run for his own succession in 2024, a candidacy that they believe could sow seeds of confusion. ” chaos “.
Macky Sall, elected in 2012 and re-elected in 2019, has been unclear about his intentions for months, while opinions differ on his legitimacy to represent himself and the opposition promises fierce resistance if he takes the plunge. The Constitution stipulates that a president cannot serve more than two consecutive terms. But a number of voices are rising in the presidential camp to defend the idea of a third term by invoking the constitutional revision of 2016, which would reset the counters to zero according to them.
In a statement published Thursday, organizations for the defense of human rights and democracy, such as AfrikaJom or the African Meeting for the Defense of Human Rights (Raddho), recall that elsewhere in Africa, in the past, forcing for a third term had consequences “particularly tragic”, an apparent reference to Guinean, Ivorian or even Senegalese precedents. They say they want “to avoid a scenario of chaos for our country”.
“Remove any ambiguity”
“To avoid such a catastrophe, the consequences of which could be even more dramatic than the results of 2012, we invite you, Mr. President, to make an open statement to remove any ambiguity”they write, adding: “The limitation of terms to two is unequivocal and definitively anchored in the fundamental law. » They invoke the statements and commitments made in the past, verbally or in writing, by Macky Sall himself.
In 2012, Abdoulaye Wade’s candidacy for a third term provoked violence that left several people dead. The NGOs point out that Macky Sall had then fought the third term, a fight of which he had been the “primary beneficiary”. We “solemnly invite you not to present your candidacy for the presidential election of 2024, out of respect for the word given and out of respect for the clear and unequivocal interpretation that you have constantly given of our Constitution”they say.
The refusal of a third term was one of the watchwords of the 2021 riots in Senegal in a tense social and health context.
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