Macky Sall’s counterpart in Gambia, President Jammeh don’t have any noble thought to exit power gracefully. The Gambian President shortly after seizing power in July 1994 promised to end perpetual rule by a single President. Jammeh has long since change his mind and succumbed to the trappings of power.
Senegal’s President Macky Sall said on Tuesday he would hold a referendum next year to reduce the presidential term to five years from seven, seeking to “set an example” at a time when some African leaders want to lift their term limit.
Sall declined to say whether he would seek a second term in his West African country, regarded as a bastion of democracy in a turbulent region, though he is widely expected to do so.
Sall pledged during his 2012 campaign that he would cut the presidential term in Senegal to bring it into line with regional norms, after his predecessor, Abdoulaye Wade, increased it from five to seven years.
“Have you seen a president decrease their mandate? Me, I am going to do it,” he told a news conference. “People must see that in Africa, we are capable of setting an example and that power is not an end in itself.”
Sall, a former prime minister during Wade’s term as president, said the referendum would probably take place in May 2016. If the outcome is positive, the next presidential election will take place in February 2017, he added.
Several long-standing African leaders are approaching term limits. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, President Joseph Kabila has failed to win support for legal reforms to extend his rule, while in the neighbouring Congo Republic, the ruling coalition is calling for constitutional change to scrap a two-term limit.
Sall swept to power in 2012 amid a wave of protests against Wade’s attempt to sidestep a term limit and to seek a third presidential mandate. The popular opposition to Wade was led by a civil society group called ‘Fed Up’.
Three members of the Senegalese organisation were among 40 people detained on Sunday by security forces at a news conference in the Democratic Republic of Congo, along with a U.S. diplomat and youth leaders from Burkina Faso and Congo.
The arrests of the pro-democracy campaigners came after members of Kabila’s own ruling coalition warned him, in a confidential letter this month seen by Reuters, that uncertainty over his plans after 2016 was harming its popularity.
“My position is to get these Senegalese citizens – members of ‘Fed Up’ – released as quickly as possible so they can come home. We are working on that,” said Sall, declining to comment on the reasons for their arrest.
Source: Reuters
Merci beaucoup Monsieur Macky Sall. Please push forward on a counterpart sensitisation tour of Africa. Please help your counterpart presidents across the continent, because most of them need help mentally.
Tres Bien Monsieur Macky Sall, YOU are a true African son. YOU are the real trend setter.
Keep it up!
This will be a perfect example and President Macky Sall will have a life achieving award for this.This is also a SIGNAL to yaya jammeh that power is only temporary, but LEGACY can last forever.THINK ABOUT IT.
Mr sall is a true patriot and democrat who believe in that power belongs to the power. His legacy will be remembered as selfless and visionary leader who truly advocate for democracy and equal opportunities for all .
I would first all thank the people of Senegal for their democratic maturity. President Sall is a man of his words. Unlike our lier who think that Gambia belong to him and his Casamnce registered voters.
Macky Sall and the other democratically elected African Presidents should form an exclusive COALATION group within the AU and other regional organizations to steer away and to shurn all those african dictators who cling to power with the help of their brutal armies.
Merci Monsieur le President, l’Afrique prend note.
Macky Sall seems to venture to areas where not many of the wanton African leaders seem to go closed to…. If continues like he’s faring at moment, he’ll do a Mandela!!! May God give you the health & motivation to continue to strive to live by example, to better yourself, your people, community & country, in the services of country, continent & humanity at large…. God bless Africa with more foresighted noble sons & daughters; Ameen.
Mr sall is a true patriot and a democrat who believe that power belongs to the people . His legacy will be remembered as selfless and visionary leader who truly advocate for democracy and equal opportunities for all .