Human rights lawyer Femi Falana has urged the Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to promptly address the deteriorating human rights and rule of law crisis in Senegal.
Falana called for ECOWAS leadership to consider imposing sanctions on Senegal for violating the democratic rights of its citizens by postponing the presidential election.
President Macky Sall announced the indefinite postponement of the presidential election, originally set for February 25, just hours before official campaigning was due to start.
This decision marks the first time a Senegalese presidential election has been postponed and follows a disagreement between the National Assembly and the Constitutional Court regarding the rejection of candidates.
In a statement, Falana emphasized the need for targeted sanctions, including travel bans and asset freezes, on Sall and officials responsible for serious violations of democratic rights.
He argued that such actions align with ECOWAS treaties and protocols, including Article 45 (2) of the ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance.
Falana highlighted President Sall’s previous decision to drop his ambition for a third term, which ended years of uncertainty and fueled deadly opposition protests.
He accused Sall of manipulating the democratic process to install his chosen candidate and described the postponement of the election as a constitutional coup and a threat to the rule of law.
The postponement of the elections also breaches the Lome Declaration and the African Charter on Democracy, Elections, and Governance, which Senegal signed.
Falana criticized Sall’s alleged ploy to manipulate the country’s constitution to hold onto power against the will of the people and popular aspirations.
Following protests against the postponement, the Senegalese government temporarily cut the nation’s mobile internet to prevent the dissemination of “hateful and subversive messages” on social networks in a context of threats to public order.
