Khalifa Sall, a former minister and mayor of Dakar, says Senegal’s election postponement inspired by President Macky Sall is a coup d’état that allows the president an illegitimate third term in office.

“It is a coup d’état that doesn’t speak its name. With the change in the law, he (President Sall) is entering a third term of office, even if it will be incomplete,” Mr Sall, one of the favourites in the presidential race, told Le Monde in an interview on Thursday.

“Since he will be president after April 2, he is violating essential provisions of the constitution and the Electoral Code,” he added.

Mr Sall, the leader of Manko Taxawu Sénégal, said, “The debate on postponement has been ongoing for several months within the presidential majority. But as the presidential election is a sacred institution in Senegal, respected by all, I always thought President Sall would never touch it. Particularly because, despite the troubles, the presidential election has always been held on time in our country.”

In the twilight of his constitutional second term, Mr Sall announced last week the postponement of the election scheduled for February 25, sparking a wave of protests in the country.

On Monday, the military forced opposition members out of the national assembly, leaving 105 members of parliament to vote in support of Mr Sall’s election postponement, delaying the polls till December 15.

Senegal’s election postponement has generated local and international condemnation, with the U.S., EU and ECOWAS calling for urgent solutions to the lingering political crisis in the country.