Mouhamadou Makhtar Cissé prepares for Senegal’s local elections
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Senego
Senegalese Interior Minister Mouhamadou Makhtar Cissé says the electoral administration is ready, while the date of the local elections remains dependent on a presidential decree. The terms resulting from the 23 January 2022 vote must be renewed by 23 January 2027 at the latest, RTS reports.
Senegal’s Interior Minister, Mouhamadou Makhtar Cissé, says preparations for the next local elections are on track, although no date has been set. He said the services involved were ready, according to RTS.
The General Directorate of Elections, the Directorate of File Automation and the territorial administration are involved in organising the vote. The minister said the electoral register was under control and that the launch of the process depended on a presidential decree, followed by administrative acts. He pledged to ensure the transparency and integrity of the election.
The Pastef party has formally asked the minister to open the electoral operations and sent its letter to the president and the Autonomous National Electoral Commission. Taxawu Senegaal, the party of former Dakar mayor Khalifa Sall, has meanwhile criticised the delay in revising the register and raised concerns about data security. The terms of mayors and departmental councillors elected on 23 January 2022 must be renewed by 23 January 2027 at the latest. The minister did not give a date for the expected acts and urged stakeholders to continue discussions.
Preparations for the vote extend concerns previously raised about the electoral timetable. On 5 October, Babacar Fall denounced a de facto postponement of local elections in Senegal.
