Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, has urged the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to penalise Senegal for violating the democratic rights of its citizens by postponing the presidential election, News About Nigeria reports.
The human rights lawyer made this call in a statement, noting that doing so will serve as a deterrent to other countries from disrespecting the constitution.
Recall that on Saturday, Senegal President Macky Sall announced the indefinite postponement of the presidential election, which was originally set to take place on February 25, just hours before official campaigning was due to start.
This came after a disagreement occurred between the National Assembly and the Constitutional Court regarding the rejection of candidates.
Reacting to this, Falana urged the leadership of ECOWAS to put into consideration sanctions, including imposing travel bans, asset freezes, and other targeted sanctions on the president and officials of his government responsible for serious violations of the democratic rights of the people of Senegal.
He further noted that Sall had been manipulating the democratic process to install his surrogate, adding that the illegal postponement of the elections was because the president was afraid that his chosen candidate would be rejected in the polls by the Senegalese people.
“The postponement of the elections suggests a deliberate ploy by Sall to manipulate the country’s constitution in order to hold on to power against the will of the people and popular aspirations,” he said.
He therefore urged ECOWAS leaders to act now to compel full and effective compliance with its treaties and protocols.
