Senegalese President Macky Sall said that he will not reapply for a third term in the 2024 presidential elections, a possibility about which many rumors and controversies circulated in the country. Sall has governed Senegal since 2012 and was re-elected in 2019: however, he has long been considered increasingly authoritarian and has been accused of wanting to silence and repress his main political rivals. In a speech broadcast live on his official Facebook page, Sall said that the one that began in 2019 “was his second and last term”, and that his “carefully considered” decision is not to stand as a candidate in the elections of February 25, 2024, even if according to him the Constitution would give him the right.
The possibility that Sall could be elected to a third term had provoked great protests from those who believed that the president could further curtail democratic freedoms, as he has been accused of having done during his two terms. Among other things, over the past two years Sall has been accused of being involved in the arrest and two-year prison sentence of opposition leader Ousmane Sonko, which according to his supporters was decided precisely to prevent him from running for election presidential. Last month, Sonko’s conviction sparked protests and clashes in which at least 9 people died.
