SENEGAL’s president has told the BBC he does not regret delaying this year’s elections, a move that sparked deadly protests.
Macky Sall said he did not make the decision alone – he was responding to concerns raised by parliamentarians.
After a violent backlash, many feared the relatively stable nation was slipping into political crisis.
But the attempt to push the election back by 10 months was blocked by Senegal’s top court.
The vote will now take place on Sunday – a month after it was initially due.
“I have no apology to make, I have done nothing wrong,” President Sall told the BBC.
“All the actions that have been taken have been within the framework of the law and regulations.”
With just three weeks to go before the 25 February election, Mr Sall announced that it would be delayed, a move that was later approved by parliament.
Critics accused Mr Sall of trying to stay on beyond his term of office, which the president denied. He argued that the delay was needed to resolve a dispute over the eligibility of presidential candidates.
He says it was opposition politicians who raised these concerns.
“If it had not been for the National Assembly which passed the law, which referred it to me, there would not have been the postponement of the election,” he said.
Mr Sall’s announcement sparked violent clashes between police and protesters, in which three people died.
Many feared that Senegal’s reputation as a bastion of democracy in an unstable region was on the line.