Senegal’s parliament has approved the rescheduling of the election to December 15, supporting President Macky Sall’s earlier decision to postpone the vote, a move that has triggered widespread protests across the nation.
President Sall’s decision to postpone the election received parliamentary endorsement on Monday, with opposing lawmakers being forcefully removed from the chamber, leaving 105 MPs to vote in favor of the postponement.
According to Seneweb, a local paper, the vote occurred after opposition deputies were evacuated from the National Assembly by the military.
READ ALSO: Kwara Govt Spends Over N1.5bn on Cars, Trips Amid Economic Woes
As per the new schedule, President Sall will remain in office until the election is held and a successor is elected.
“The internet of data mobile phones is temporarily suspended from Sunday, February 4, 2024, at 10:00 p.m.,” Moussa Bocar Thiam, Senegal’s minister of communication, telecommunications and digital affairs, announced in a statement, claiming the shutdown was “due to the dissemination of several hateful and subversive messages relayed on social networks in a context of threats of disturbances to public order.”
ECOWAS, on Sunday, urged Senegal’s authorities to promptly select a new date for the country’s presidential election.