Senegalese President Macky Sall ruled out seeking a third term in next year’s presidential elections, bringing an end to a heated controversy over his eligibility to stand.
Sall’s decision to step down when his tenure ends in April marks the start of a race to succeed the leader of one of Africa’s fastest-growing economies. The candidate of the ruling Benno Bokk Yakaar coalition will have the edge in the vote scheduled for February as popular opposition leader Ousmane Sonko faces disqualification from the race after being convicted of “corrupting youth” and sentenced to two years in prison.
“I want to preserve my dignity and stand by my word,” Sall, 61, said in a televised address to the nation in the capital, Dakar, on Monday. “The 2019 term was my second and last term, that’s what I said before and that’s my decision tonight.”
