DAKAR (Reuters) – Senegal President Macky Sall said on Thursday that April 2 will be the end of his mandate as president of the West African nation. He added, however, that it was unlikely the election of a new president will be completed before then.
His announcement comes after a court ruled last week that a 10-month postponement of the election was unlawful. The election had initially been scheduled for Feb. 25.
“April 2, 2024 will be the end of my term at the head of the country, the end of my binding relationship with the Senegalese people as President of the Republic. I would like this debate to be clearly settled,” Sall said during an interview on national TV.
Sall said however that he cannot issue a decree to hold the election before a national dialogue takes place.
The dialogue is set to begin on Monday and will likely terminate by Tuesday, he said.
(Reporting by Bate Felix; Writing by Portia Crowe; Editing by Leslie Adler, diting by William Maclean)
