In Senegal, the mobilization against the postponement of the election does not weaken

Special envoy to Ziguinchor

In Ziguinchor, capital of Casamance, the second day of demonstrations ended in mourning. Landing Camara was 16 years old. He died late Saturday evening at the regional hospital from a head injury. In the Lyndiane and Grand-Dakar districts, clashes between demonstrators and the police began late Saturday afternoon and continued into the night.

A majority of young boys, including minors, were protesting against the postponement of the presidential election, which was to be held on February 25. “Our president refused to leave power. If he had let our country hold the elections, these problems that you see would not happen,” explains a young man who wishes to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals.

Sunday morning, Ziguinchor was plunged into calm, as the news of the high school student's death spread. “There is a lot of emotion. The family is devastated,” says Seydou Mandiang, coordinator of the communal electoral committee in Ziguinchor, who went to the regional hospital during the night to confirm the death. “Landing was a kind, respectful young man, he was a very intelligent kid,” testifies Moustapha Goudiade, who attended the same Koranic school. He also demonstrated on Saturday, in another street. “The young people only have stones with them, and the police are well protected,” he says.

Ziguinchor is the political stronghold of the main opponent Ousmane Sonko, mayor of the city, currently in detention. Already on Friday, demonstrations were held in several cities across the country, including Dakar, to contest what many describe as an “institutional coup”. A mobilization firmly repressed by the police, who used tear gas grenades. Some demonstrators claim to have witnessed live ammunition being fired.

In Dakar, Modou Guèye, a street vendor, died Saturday morning of a gunshot wound, according to his relatives. In Saint-Louis, in the northeast of the country, another student, Alpha Yoro Tounkara, also died. The circumstances of his death remain unknown. Calls for mobilization have been increasing in Senegal since the postponement of the election, voted on February 5 by the National Assembly.

On Wednesday, the “Collective of Opposition Candidates” launched a call for a strike, particularly in the education sector. The civil society platform Aar Sunu Election (“Let’s Protect Our Election”) has called for a major national march on February 13.

Also read: Aïssata Tall Sall, Minister of Justice of Senegal: “We are experiencing a crisis like we have never experienced”

In his first media outing since the announcement of the postponement, President Macky Sall justified his decision on Friday during an interview with the Associated Press (AP) agency. “I seek absolutely nothing other than to leave a country peaceful and stable,” he said. He also pledged to “calm the situation.” Several opposition candidates have initiated legal proceedings before the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Council to force the head of state to reverse course.