By Ebi Kesiena
It’s a mixture of anxiety and tension as Senegal is braced for a potential showdown amidst President Macky Sall’s long-awaited announcement on whether he plans to seek a controversial third term.
The President is due to make the announcement on Monday, on national television at 8:00 pm (2000 GMT).
Recall that on Sunday, the eve of Sall’s nationwide address, his fiercest critic, Ousmane Sonko, urged the public to “come out en masse” and oppose him.
Already, deadly clashes erupted last month between Sonko supporters and the security forces, claiming at least 16 lives.
The turbulence has stained Senegal’s image as a beacon of stability in West Africa, a region notorious for coups and civil war.
President Sall was first elected in 2012 for a seven-year term and again in 2019 for a five-year term, following a constitutional revision of the presidential tenure.
The constitution stipulates that a president cannot serve more than two terms, but Sall’s supporters argue the counter has been reset to zero, thanks to the 2016 revision.
Sall once campaigned against a third term by his predecessor, Abdoulaye Wade, who was in power from 2000 to 2012. He also repeatedly said he would not seek a third mandate.
But he has no designated political successor and in recent months has been reserved about another term, a position that has stoked tensions.
However, residents of the Senegalese capital Dakar returned to work on Monday after a long weekend break for the Muslim festival of Tabaski.
Abdou Diagne, a 38-year-old car washer, said: “I don’t want him (Sall) to stand again. We’ve already given him 12 years, it’s time for him to go and let somebody else take over.
“If he says otherwise, it’s not a given that people will stand by with their arms folded. Either way, we are praying for peace.”
Also Samba Fall, said he believed Sall “will keep his word.”
