Senegal's Sall opens 'national dialogue' with opposition candidates absent

FRANCE 24 English

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00:00 "Senegal's so-called national dialogue began on Monday.

00:08 Most of the attendees were allies of President Macky Sall, but those who had their candidacies

00:13 rejected by the Constitutional Council and religious figures were also present.

00:19 President Sall set out his vision to a packed audience.

00:22 "In the history of nations, there are moments of political adversity which need to be resolved

00:29 through dialogue.

00:34 My will and my dearest wish is to hold the presidential election as soon as possible,

00:40 in other words, before the rainy season."

00:42 At the heart of this national dialogue is the question of when the election will be

00:52 held.

00:53 "Among the candidates, there are those who want the election to be held in May or June.

00:58 I haven't heard anyone talk about August or October.

01:02 There is a difference of a matter of days or weeks.

01:04 We want to create competition between the different actors."

01:10 Sixteen out of nineteen presidential candidates have boycotted the national dialogue and have

01:15 requested that the Constitutional Council force the president to set an election date

01:20 immediately.

01:21 "He is holding a dialogue that is just about slowing down the election.

01:28 That is why we have come to the authority that regulates the electoral process to demand

01:32 that the date is fixed."

01:34 The Constitutional Council must anticipate the risk of crisis when it takes into account

01:39 the fact that Macky Sall could bring us to the end of his term without a new president

01:43 being chosen.

01:46 The national dialogue will continue on Tuesday and it's only after these discussions are

01:51 finished that the president has said he would unveil a new date for the presidential election

01:56 here in Senegal.

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