:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/mentormedier/3X6EI6DZEXTCT4HEWXWXUEAROQ.jpg "Political crisis in Senegal – internet is down – Dagsavisen")
Access to the internet has been down in the capital Dakar since Monday morning, according to local sources.
The election was scheduled to have been held on 25 February, but on Saturday President Macky Sall announced a postponement. The National Assembly will now discuss a proposal to hold it on 25 August instead.
On Monday, around 100 people gathered outside the National Assembly, where they were met by armed police who fired tear gas to disperse the crowd. Some were also arrested, according to reporters from Reuters.
The postponement of the election has caused concern that Sall will stand as a candidate for a third term in power. At the same time, several opposition leaders are refusing to run.
Sall himself says that the postponement is due to a conflict over the list of candidates and suspicion of corruption at the public office that has been responsible for the list.
At least two female presidential candidates are said to have been arrested when riot police intervened against demonstrators in Dakar on Sunday. Then too, tear gas was fired at the demonstrators.