Three people died in protests in Senegal.

The announcement of the election postponement just three weeks before the scheduled vote on February 25 triggered violent clashes on Friday between protesters and police in Dakar and several other cities, in a wave of unrest that many fear will turn into a prolonged period of unrest.

President Macky Sall said the delay was necessary because the electoral dispute threatened the credibility of the election, but some opposition lawmakers denounced the move as an "institutional coup."

Senegalese protesters clashed with riot police on February 25 in Dakar, Senegal on February 9, 2024. Photo: REUTERS

According to Cartogra Free Senegal (CFS), a civil society platform that tracks casualties, the death of a young man reported in the southern city of Zinguinchor last Saturday night has brought the death toll related to the protests to three.

"We tried to save him when he arrived at the hospital, but unfortunately he passed away...", said Ndiame Diop, director of Ziguinchor Hospital, adding that it is impossible to determine the exact cause of death without an autopsy.

A spokesperson for Senegal's Interior Ministry has so far confirmed only one death, a student, in the northern city of Saint-Louis on Friday.

The U.S. Bureau of African Affairs said in an online post Saturday that it was saddening to learn of the first two deaths: “We call on all parties to act peacefully and with restraint, and we continue to urge President Sall to reinstate the election schedule, restore confidence, and bring calm to the situation.”

Opposition lawmakers and presidential candidates who refused the postponement filed legal complaints and said they would refuse to recognize Sall as president after his initial term expires in early April.

The congressional delay bill includes extending his term until his successor is appointed after the election, which is now rescheduled for December 15.

"If President Macky Sall does not restore power to us by April 3, we will form a parallel national unity government ," opposition lawmaker Guy Marius Sagna said on radio on Sunday.

Mai Anh (according to Reuters)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/ba-nguoi-tu-vong-trong-cac-cuoc-bieu-tinh-o-senegal-post284307.html