4 Apr. (EUROPE PRESS) –
The President of Senegal, Macky Sall, has assured that he is “open to dialogue” to address the political crisis that the country is going through as a result of the last weeks of protests against the open trial against the opposition leader, Ousmane Sonko, and the possibility of to run for a third term in the 2024 elections.
“I am open to dialogue and agreement with all the active forces of the nation, in respect of the rule of law and the institutions of the Republic”, said Sall, who stressed that the objective must be “a united Senegal, of peace, stability and national cohesion”.
“Each of us has a responsibility,” he said in a speech to the nation on the occasion of the Independence Day, before emphasizing that all Senegalese “are part of the same family,” according to a series of messages published by the president himself through his account on the social network Twitter.
Likewise, he stressed that the African country faces “dangers” and has opted to work to “guarantee the security of the national territory.” Sall has also recognized that Senegal “is going through a difficult economic situation” and has defended that the authorities have implemented measures to “fight against the rise in the standard of living”.
The country has been the scene of various protests in recent months due to various proceedings against Sonko, sentenced last week to two months in prison -a sentence that has been suspended- for defamation against the Minister of Tourism, Mame Mbaye Niang, a process that he has described as politically motivated to try to steer him away from the 2024 presidential election.
Given the disturbances registered in some of these mobilizations, Sall demanded that the security forces “adopt all appropriate measures” to guarantee “public order.” In addition, he rejected the complaints about the possibility of violating the two-term limit should he run for re-election, stressing that “in the legal field, the debate has been closed for a long time.” However, he specified that he has not yet decided if he will run for the polls again.
The opposition has denounced on several occasions that the president plans to run for a third term. The Senegalese constitution limits the total number of terms to two and an attempt to extend his stay in power could lead to instability.
