After unrest in parliament: postponed elections in Senegal on December 15 President Aliyev wants to secure power in Azerbaijan with early elections

A majority of Senegalese parliament approved the postponement of the presidential elections, originally scheduled for February 23. After a stormy debate late on Monday evening, 105 of the 165 MPs agreed to postpone the election date to December 15.

After tumultuous scenes around the lectern, armed police even marched into the plenary and chased opposition MPs out of the room.

President Macky Sall’s surprise postponement of elections led to protests in the West African country this weekend, which were violently broken up by police. In a statement, Sall referred to investigations into allegations of corruption in the drawing up of the candidate lists. Opposition MPs repeatedly criticized the short-term delay as an “institutional coup”.

Representatives of the EU, the African Union and the West African Community of States ECOWAS expressed concern about the postponement of the election date. The country of 17 million people was previously considered a stable democracy in West Africa, which has recently seen repeated upheavals and unrest.

According to its own information, the German Foreign Ministry is also following the developments “with concern and great attention”. The government there is responsible for “enabling transparent and inclusive elections in compliance with constitutional standards,” a spokesperson said.

Human rights organization Amnesty International criticized on Monday the closure of the mobile data network in Senegal and the closure of a television station close to the opposition. In a statement published in London, Amnesty called on Senegalese authorities to respect the rights to freedom of expression and assembly. (saw/sda/dpa)