Senegal's Catholic bishops urge calm ahead of court ruling

Senegal’s Catholic bishops are calling for calm ahead of Friday’s Constitutional Court ruling on the eligibility of President Abdoulaye Wade to contest the February 26 presidential election.

The call comes as a union representing public transporters vowed to launch a three-day national strike to pressure the Constitutional Court not to declare the president eligible.

The unionists backed by opposition politicians and lobby groups argue that President wade, who took office in 2000, has already served the two terms mandated by the constitution.

The president’s backers reply that a mid-term constitutional amendment means the first term cannot be taken into account.

In a strongly-worded statement issued Tuesday, the Catholic Church the bishops said: “We are appealing for the strict respect of the constitution which is the only guarantee of good governance and the good management of the public good, peace and the electoral process.”

The bishops urged the political class to put the interest of the nation above that of their personal good.

Political crisis

And in a statement aired on several independent radio stations on Tuesday, the leaders of the opposition political parties have cast doubt on the objectivity of the Constitutional Council and said the only way out of the simmering political crisis in the country is to overturn the candidacy of President Wade.

International figures like Kofi Annan, the former UN secretary-general, and the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, have added their voice to calls on President Wade not to extend his tenure.

On June 23 last year, civil society groups backed opposition parties successfully forced President Wade to withdraw an electoral law that reduced the threshold for a presidential winner to 25 per cent of the national vote.

Opponents termed the law undemocratic and tailored to suit the incumbent.