Senegal’s judges stand up for the constitution

THE REBUKE was blunt and brief. On February 15th Senegal’s Constitutional Council, the last line of defence for its democracy, summarily cancelled a presidential decree that had indefinitely postponed the election due on February 25th. It also cuffed down a law rushed through the National Assembly that had then attempted to reschedule the poll to December 15th. Stripped of a veneer of legality for his actions and under heavy pressure, Macky Sall, the president, promised to “fully implement the decision” of the council. That is a tremendous boost to democracy and rule of law in Senegal, where both had recently seemed in retreat.Yet there is a wrinkle. The council conceded that there is not enough time for the government to organise the poll by its original date. Instead it told the government to hold the vote “as soon as possible”. Mr Sall has promised to do so. What that means in practice has been hotly contested.