Following a Parliamentary vote Monday, Senegal will delay the West African nation’s presidential election until Dec 2024. After 12 years in office, President Macky Sall recently confirmed he would not run for another term. However, he submitted a bill to the Parliament to postpone the election. In his announcement, Sall cites that the constitutional judges approving all viable candidates must be investigated for possible bribery charges. He stated, “I will initiate an open national dialogue to bring together the conditions for a free, transparent, and inclusive election in a peaceful and reconciled Senegal.” 

Al Jazeera recorded a chaotic debate over his decision, and subsequently, security forcefully removed opposition lawmakers from the building. The remaining opposition candidates have joined together in protest. “Nothing can stop us,” says presidential candidate Anti Engom. However, Al Jazeera footage shows security forces separated her from her supporters and quickly arrested her. Civil unrest has begun in Liberty, a district in Dakar. Citizens created obstructions in the roadways, and security forces responded with tear gas.

According to an organization that tracks internet suppression, the Senegalese Ministry of Communication, Telecommunication and Digital Economy ordered a shutdown of mobile data access because of the “spread of hateful and subversive messages.” Samira Daoud, Director of Amnesty International’s Regional Office for West and Central Africa, released a statement which called for Sengalese authorities to “protect and uphold people’s right to information”, and labelling the the shutdown a “blatant assault on the right to freedom of expression and press rights”.

Reporters Without Borders has voiced concern since 2021 after a law was passed to impose heavier restrictions on the press. A recent arrest of a prominent crime journalist created outrage in the media, and 78 African journalists urged the Senegal government to release him in respect of Article 10 of the country’s constitution.

Two months ago, the US Senate introduced a resolution reinforcing the United States-Senegal relationship and urging the government of Senegal to conduct free, fair, transparent, and inclusive elections on the planned date of February 25, 2024. The election was to be the first presidential election in Senegalese history without an incumbent president on the ballot.