Less than 24 hours after Senegal’s Constitutional Council declared President Macky Sall’s election postponement ratified by some parliament members unlawful, Mr Sall has agreed to conduct the election as soon as possible.

“The president intends to fully execute the decision of the Constitutional Council,” a statement issued on Friday by Mr Sall’s office said.
 “The head of state will without delay conduct the necessary consultations to organise presidential elections as soon as possible.”

Mr Sall’s decision to conduct the election but without a specific date comes after Senegal’s apex court ruled election postponement unlawful late Thursday. 

Seven members of the apex court, in their judgement, declared election postponement “contrary to the Constitution.”

The court’s judgement came amid vehement protests by Senegalese challenging election postponement. Three persons have been killed in the protest so far. 

On February 5, Mr Sall, who assumed office in 2012 and is at the twilight of his second constitutional tenure that ends on April 2, unanimously announced the postponement of the election scheduled for February 25th.

To ratify Mr Sall’s pronouncement, the military forced opposition lawmakers out of the National Assembly, leaving 105 parliament members to vote in favour of the postponement, while internet access in the country was blocked on claims that it is deployed to spread hateful and subversive messages, 

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

Mr Sall, however, denied trying to hold unto power, justifying election postponement as a way to stabilised the country. 

“I am completely ready to pass the baton. I have always been programmed for that,” said Mr Sall. “I don’t want to leave behind a country that will immediately plunge into major difficulties.”