Senegal’s President Macky Sall says he won’t stand for a third term
Violence would probably have erupted if he had said otherwise
“My long and carefully considered decision is not to be a candidate in the next election,” declared Senegal’s president on July 3rd. That ended years of speculation over whether Macky Sall would seek a constitution-bending third term in next year’s election. It also assuaged fears of more bloody clashes if he did. Alioune Tine of Afrikajom Centre, a think-tank in Dakar, the capital, echoed the feelings of many Senegalese democrats: “It’s a great feeling of deliverance.”
This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “A step back from the brink”
From the July 8th 2023 edition
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