Diamniadio: Senegalese President Macky Sall has proposed a general amnesty bill for political protesters arrested from 2021 as he holds talks to end fresh turmoil over postponed elections.
The West African nation is facing its worst political crisis in decades after Sall abruptly postponed a presidential vote on February 25 just hours before campaigning was due to begin.
The Constitutional Council lifted the postponement and Sall, whose second term is set to end on April 2, began two days of negotiations to set a new date for the vote.
He announced the amnesty bill on Monday at the start of what he called a “national dialogue”, suggesting it could reunite the country.
“In the spirit of national reconciliation, I will present this Wednesday to the National Assembly in the Council of Ministers a bill on general amnesty for acts related to political demonstrations that took place between 2021 and 2024,” Sall said on Monday.
“This will make it possible to pacify the political arena,” he added.
According to some human rights organizations, over 1,000 people have been arrested since 2021 during the power struggle between opposition leader Ousmane Sonko and the state.
Sonko and his party’s replacement candidate, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, are both in prison.
Authorities have released hundreds of detainees over the past 10 days.
Cheikh Anta Diop University in the capital Dakar also reopened its campus on Monday after being closed for months.
The idea of amnesty has proven divisive between government supporters and the opposition.
Some critics suggest it would excuse violent crimes committed by protesters, while the opposition camp fears it will be used to justify government and security officials for the deaths of protesters.
The February 3 decision to postpone presidential elections threw traditionally stable Senegal into turmoil, with four people killed in the resulting clashes.
Sall, who has been in power since 2012, said he called off the vote due to disputes over the disqualification of potential candidates and fears of a return to unrest as in 2021 and 2023.
The opposition called it a “constitutional coup”.
In his opening speech on Monday in the new town of Diamniadio, about 30 kilometers (19 miles) from Dakar, Sall reiterated that he had no plans to seek re-election and had no “personal agenda”.
“I’d like to leave,” he said.
“I have only one concern – to find an agreement on the date of the next presidential election so that the voting takes place under the best possible conditions.”
However, Sall questioned the feasibility of conducting surveys before the end of his term.
He suggested that the vote be held before the start of the rainy season in June or July.
He also admitted that only two of the 19 qualified candidates had accepted his invitation for dialogue – including his chosen successor, Prime Minister Amadou Ba.
One of the boycotters, Cheikh Tidiane Dieye, described the meeting as “theatre”.
He and several other potential presidential candidates asked the Constitutional Court to formally hold Sall accountable for failing to fulfill his duty to hold a vote.
The Aar Sunu Election (Protect Our Elections) collective, made up of more than 100 civil society groups, also boycotted the talks and called for a general strike on Tuesday.
Some fear a power vacuum if Sall leaves before a successor is installed and have called for a vote by April 2.
“President Macky Salla has just over 30 days left to run and we still don’t know when we will choose another president,” protester Mohamed Al Amine Toure said at a rally in Dakar at the weekend.
Others accuse him of delaying further vetting of candidates and buying time for political allies.
Opposition leader Sonko has been in prison since July 2023 for inciting insurrection, associating with criminals linked to terrorism and undermining state security.
The Constitutional Court rejected Sonko’s candidacy, but accepted the candidacy of Faye, Pastef’s party number two, along with about 20 others.
Faye has been in custody since April last year but has yet to face trial.
This month, his supporters called for “all political prisoners who have been unjustly imprisoned to be released immediately”.
Sall, who insists there are no political prisoners in Senegal, said he hoped to reach an agreement on an election date by the end of Tuesday’s talks.
