Senegal poll body allays fears over its readiness

Senegal’s national electoral commission says there’s no cause for alarm over its preparedness to conduct the presidential election on 24 March.

It’s been a joyful mood in Senegal as the government finally fixed a day for the delayed presidential election.

But there are concerns the electoral commission may not have enough time.

The commission has assured Senegalese that they have nothing to worry about, with an official telling the BBC that they are not under any pressure.

The official said electoral materials had already been sent to the regional offices and their teams mobilised before elections were postponed early last month.

The move to hold elections before 2 April, when the mandate of President Macky Sall comes to an end, ends the crisis that divided the country and led to protests for weeks.

Prior to Wednesday’s announcement, authorities had attempted to postpone the original 25 February poll to December, which resulted in the political crisis.