Senegal’s judges stand up for the constitution

THE REBUKE was blunt and brief. On February 15th Senegal’s Constitutional Council, the last line of defence for its democracy, summarily cancelled a presidential decree that had indefinitely postponed the election due on February 25th. It also cuffed down a law rushed through the National Assembly that had then attempted to reschedule the poll to December 15th. Stripped of a veneer of legality for his actions and under heavy pressure, Macky Sall, the president, promised to “fully implement the decision” of the council. That is a tremendous boost to democracy and rule of law in Senegal, where both had recently seemed in retreat.