Senegal: Organizations Urge Clarity on Electoral Calendar

Twenty civil society organizations in Senegal have recently called for the urgent clarification of the electoral calendar for the upcoming territorial elections, whose preparatory operations remain undefined less than five months before the current mandate expires on January 22, 2027. These organizations, including prominent groups like COSCE, ONG-3D, and the Forum du Justiciable, are pressing Senegalese authorities to publish a detailed electoral roadmap. This roadmap is expected to specify crucial elements such as the exact date of the vote, the schedule for the revision of electoral lists, the amount of the electoral caution, procedures for the filing and control of candidacies, and comprehensive logistical preparations. The call highlights that the renewal of municipal and departmental councils, elected on January 23, 2022, must occur within thirty days preceding the January 22, 2027, expiry date, as stipulated by the Electoral Code. This intervention follows earlier warnings, notably from the Front pour la Défense de la Démocratie et de la République, which had already flagged in August that the ordinary revision of lists, mandated by Article L.37 of the Electoral Code to commence on February 1, 2026, had not yet taken place, nor had the caution amount been fixed by August 20, 2026.