Senegalese heed opposition’s call for noisy protest ahead of vote

Dakar, Senegal – (AFP)

People in Senegal heeded a call by the country’s main opposition to bang on saucepans and honk their car horns on Thursday, in a noisy protest ahead of next month’s elections.

A day after the opposition said it would halt street protests and take part in the July 31 legislative vote, people took to their balconies to bang on kitchen utensils to show their discontent, AFP reporters said.

Tensions have been rising in the West African state ahead of the vote, seen as a key test for President Macky Sall. The ballot is for the 165-seat National Assembly, where Sall supporters wield a majority.

The opposition claims that twice-elected Sall is seeking to extend his time in office, even if the president himself has remained vague on the subject.

Sonko came in third in the 2019 presidential elections and has already declared he will run in the 2024 ballot.

Senegal has a general reputation for stability in a region where political turbulence is widespread. But the country was shaken by several days of rioting in March last year, claiming around a dozen lives.

The political mood darkened again after Senegal’s paramount court on June 3, citing technical grounds, tossed out the first-choice election candidates submitted by the opposition coalition group, Yewwi Askan Wi.

Declaring the move to be politically motivated, the group’s leaders called a protest on June 17.