Senegal’s opposition parties are mounting pressure on President Bassirou Diomaye Faye to announce a date for municipal and departmental elections, with the long-delayed vote potentially becoming the first major electoral test of his increasingly bitter political split with former Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko.
The five-year mandates of Senegal’s local authorities are due to expire in January, but Faye has yet to issue the decrees needed to begin the electoral process, including setting the voting date and opening voter registration.
The FDR opposition coalition, led by the former ruling party of ex-President Macky Sall, has rejected any proposal to postpone the elections or extend the mandates of serving local officials.
Sonko, who has also repeatedly demanded that the elections be held on schedule, has accused the president of deliberately delaying the process.
During a recent visit to northern Senegal, Sonko openly challenged Faye, urging supporters of their Pastef movement to maintain pressure until an election date is announced.
The dispute follows the collapse of the political partnership that brought the two men to power in 2024. Sonko backed Faye’s presidential candidacy after he was prevented from contesting the election because of a defamation conviction.
Their relationship subsequently deteriorated, leading Faye to remove Sonko as prime minister in May.
The election timetable has now become a major political flashpoint.
According to Mor Fall, a law lecturer at Dakar University, Senegal’s electoral code requires the decree setting an election date to be published at least 80 days before voting.
This means that if the local elections are to take place before the current mandates expire in January, the necessary decree would have to be issued by early November.
However, officials aligned with Faye have suggested that the elections could be held later.
Aminata Toure, an official of Faye’s newly established Kiiraay party, has said the president has the whole of 2027 to organise the polls, fuelling speculation that the elections could be postponed.
Faye formally broke away from Pastef in July by launching Kiiraay, meaning “The Republican Patriots”, deepening the political rupture between him and Sonko.
The split has created uncertainty within the ruling camp, with Pastef remaining the largest party in parliament and both factions positioning themselves for greater influence ahead of the 2029 presidential election.
The local elections are also significant because many councils remain under the control of political forces associated with former President Macky Sall, potentially making the vote a three-way contest for political influence.
Political analyst Pathe Mbodj said Faye could be reluctant to announce an election date while still struggling to consolidate his political authority.
“He is struggling to get a grip on the political situation,” Mbodj told AFP, describing the current political climate as a “hybrid situation” in which the president does not yet exercise complete political control.
Mbodj said a defeat for Faye’s camp at the local polls could weaken the president well ahead of the 2029 presidential election, potentially making postponement more attractive than facing an immediate contest in January.
However, Fall said any decision to extend the mandates of local officials or postpone the elections would require legislation approved by parliament.
The dispute over the local elections comes amid growing speculation about possible early legislative elections.
Trade Minister Serigne Gueye Diop said this week that Faye was considering dissolving parliament in December and calling an early legislative election.
Local media have also reported that the president has sought the opinion of Senegal’s Constitutional Council on the possibility of holding local and legislative elections simultaneously in 2027.
The presidency has not responded to requests for comment, leaving uncertainty over when Senegalese voters will next go to the polls and whether the local elections will become an early test of the political rivalry between Faye and Sonko.
