Senegal’s Constitutional Council on Tuesday published an updated but largely unchanged list of candidates for the delayed presidential poll, seemingly shutting down calls for the pre-election process to be re-examined.
The new list is virtually the same as the one originally finalised at the end of January, with the removal of just one candidate -– Rose Wardini -– who withdrew from the race on Monday.
The document, which now contains 19 names, was authenticated by AFP from within the Council.
Senegal had been scheduled to vote on February 25, until President Macky Sa ll announced a delay just hours before campaigning was due to begin.
Parliament then backed postponement until mid-December, plunging the traditionally stable West African nation into its worst political crisis in decades.
Last week, the Constitutional Council overturned the move, which would have kept Sall in office until his successor was installed.
The Council said it was “impossible to organise the presidential election on the initially scheduled date” but invited “the competent authorities to hold it as soon as possible”.
On Friday, Sall said he intended to fully implement the decision and “carry out the consultations necessary to organise the presidential election as soon as possible”.
But it has left open the question of whether the election will be organised before or after Sall’s term officially expires on April 2.
Debates have also been raised about whether to re-start the electoral process which led to the original 20 candidates being validated in January.