Senegal's president Macky Sall to step down in April

The president of Senegal, Macky Sall, announced that he will step down on April 2nd, but an election date has not yet been set.

Deadly protests were spurred by his recent decision to postpone the vote, which was originally set for Sunday, to mid-December.

Mr. Sall stated in a television interview that political negotiations will now begin on Monday to determine the timing of the election.

The Summit Post News claims that the opposition's refusal to participate in the suggested conversation has dashed expectations for settling the unrest.

Of the 19 presidential candidates, 16 have declared they will not attend what the president has called a "national dialogue." Numerous organisations from the civil society have also chosen not to participate in the exercise.

Mr. Sall is under pressure to announce a new date after Senegal's top court ruled last week that the poll's postponement was unlawful. He is currently traveling to Abuja, Nigeria, for an extraordinary session of the regional body Ecowas.

The international community strongly condemned his initial directive to postpone the poll.

Many were afraid that the delay would mean that President Sall would continue to run the nation indefinitely in an area where military administrations and coups are commonplace.

Speaking on Thursday night on national television, Mr. Sall expressed his opinion that there would not be enough time to elect a new president by the time he stands down on April 2. If this was the case, he continued, the conversation forum would determine the appropriate course of action.

As a gesture of goodwill, the president declared that he was ready to free Ousmane Sonko, a well-liked opposition figure, from prison. Last year, his detention provoked rallies around the country.

Following Senegal's Constitutional Council ruling that the president's decision to postpone the election was unlawful, dozens of the president's opponents have already been declared free.

However, the president's failure to announce a new election date has further confirmed his detractors' fears that this is just another stalling move.

Senegal's president, Sall, has led the country twice; upon his election in 2012, he made a vow not to stay longer than necessary.

His nation's standing as a bulwark of democracy in an increasingly authoritarian area has not yet been restored, despite the televised conversation.

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