Senegal police clamp down on protesters as opposition rejects election delay
Senegal’s police have made arrests and fired tear gas at opposition supporters protesting against the president's decision to postpone elections scheduled for Feb. 25
DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Police made arrests and fired tear gas at opposition supporters during protests Sunday against the decision by President Macky Sall to postpone Senegal's Feb. 25 elections as federal lawmakers prepared to debate a bill to formalize the postponement.
Demonstrators rallied in the capital of Dakar after leading opposition figures and candidates in the presidential election rejected Saturday's announcement of the election postponement. Opposition leaders had called on citizens to defend democracy amid a push for dialogue by West Africa's regional bloc, ECOWAS.
Among those arrested as the protests spread in the capital included former Prime Minister Aminata Touré and Anta Babacar Ngom, one of the presidential candidates in the election.
The government cut off the signal of the private Walf television channel as it broadcast the protest live. The global Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the signal cutoff in a post on the social media platform X, urging Senegalese authorities to ensure that “journalists can work without hindrance.”
