The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is deploying a 130-member electoral observation mission to Senegal, led by former United Nations Under-Secretary-General, Nigerian Ibrahim Agboola Gambari.
Ibrahim Gambari, who is former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and former Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, has arrived in Dakar, where he will lead the mission commissioned by ECOWAS to observe the Senegalese presidential election.
In announcing this observation mission, ECOWAS stated that it is closely monitoring the political situation in the country, while notably welcoming the promulgation of the amnesty law. This law has led to the release of opposition members Ousmane Sonko and Bassirou Diomaye Faye, among others. While the former has been declared ineligible, the latter is in the running.
The Senegalese presidential race is shaping up to be intense, which is why ECOWAS is calling on all stakeholders in the electoral process to make Senegal the true winner of the election. They are urging them to advocate for and prioritize tolerance, peace, and reconciliation through peaceful words and actions.
Senegalese citizens will elect, on March 24, 2024, the President who will succeed Macky Sall, who has been in power for 12 years.