The African Tribune

The specter of election postponement in Senegal has resurfaced in Dakar’s political arena, sparking fresh debate. Following an initial warning from Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko, El Malick Ndiaye, a key figure in the ruling party Pastef, has stepped forward to firmly oppose any attempt to alter the electoral timeline. His intervention arrives amid a climate where the presidential majority refuses outright to entertain what it views as an unacceptable scenario—barely a year after a severe institutional crisis rocked the nation. Clear warning to proponents of delay El Malick Ndiaye’s message leaves no room for ambiguity: it targets political actors—whether openly or behind closed doors—advocating for a postponement of upcoming elections. The Pastef official emphasized that strict adherence t...

Nigeria's security crisis: kidnappings surge and state police reform gains ground Nigeria is wrestling with a worsening security landscape marked by escalating kidnappings and a contentious debate over decentralized policing. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu recently linked a portion of the country’s northern violence to armed groups infiltrating from neighboring territories, sparking sharp responses from the Alliance of Sahel States (AES). Diplomatic tensions overshadow regional security challenges In a late July address to traditional leaders, President Tinubu suggested that cross-border militants were contributing to the surge in abductions and attacks in northern regions. The remarks drew immediate pushback from the AES, with Burkina Faso’s Foreign Minister Karamoko Jean-Marie Traoré ass...

Gabon’s new civil service recruitment rule: opening doors for older candidates The Gabonese government, under the leadership of Public Service Minister Laurence Ndong, has revised the upper age limit for civil service recruitment to 40 years. The decision aims to expand the talent pool while ensuring greater professionalism in public sector appointments through national school-based competitive examinations. Strategic sectors to benefit from the reform This initiative, developed with input from 29 government departments and 110 experts, targets high-priority areas such as national sovereignty and security. The goal is to inject specialized skills into critical sectors where expertise is most needed. End of automatic career progression The reform also marks a shift away from the lon...

Political tensions rise as local election date remains uncertain Tensions surrounding the scheduling of Senegal's upcoming local elections have intensified after prominent political figures weighed in on the matter. Among them, El Malick Ndiaye, a key member of the opposition, has categorically rejected the possibility of postponing the vote. During a recent public event in Linguère, where he welcomed Ousmane Sonko as part of Pastef’s nationwide membership drive, Ndiaye emphasized the inevitability of the elections. « No one can postpone them, » he declared firmly, using the Wolof phrase “Beug beuré, bagn beuré” to underscore his stance. The deputy drew a direct link between the surge in Pastef’s membership registrations and the growing pressure for an electoral timeline. « Our membersh...