Senegal : The Constitutional Council rebels against the accusation of the PDS and warns
In response to recurring accusations against its members following the publication of the final list of candidates for the presidential election on February 25, 2024, the Senegalese Constitutional Council has issued a statement promising to shed light on this matter, which it claims has the potential to destabilize the country’s institutions.
The Council notes that « serious and unfounded accusations of corruption, conflicts of interest, and dubious connections » have been made against some of its members. The Council calls for a thorough investigation into the matter, stating that it has the potential to « destabilize the institutions and threaten public peace », according to a statement from the institution released on Monday, January 29, 2024.
« Members of the Constitutional Council have been the subject of serious and unfounded accusations of corruption, conflicts of interest, and dubious connections by a group of deputies who have requested and obtained the establishment of a parliamentary inquiry commission to clarify the conditions under which certain candidacies for the presidential election on February 25, 2024, were declared inadmissible », emphasized the jurisdiction.
The members of the Constitutional Council, acknowledging the seriousness of these accusations, express the desire for « full transparency [on this matter] in accordance with the constitutional and legal procedures governing the relations between institutions, including the separation of powers and the status of its members », states the communiqué. The Constitutional Council warns that all these accusations are « likely to destabilize the institutions and threaten public peace, and cannot remain without consequences for their authors », the statement adds.
Stating that it is « faithful to its principles of rigor and transparency » the Constitutional Council « intends to continue to fulfill all the missions assigned to it by the Constitution and the laws of the Republic », according to the document, which emphasizes that « the Constitutional Council makes its decisions in the collegial formation of its seven members ».
It is worth noting that the Senegalese Constitutional Council published the final list of 20 candidates for the presidential election on January 20. Ninety-three candidacy files had been submitted to the Constitutional Council’s registry. Two notable opposition figures are absent from the final list, namely Ousmane Sonko, currently in prison, and Karim Wade, the son and minister of former President Abdoulaye Wade.
