This could end speculations about a possible third term which President Sall may be tempted to seek following an amendment to the constitution in 2016.
“You have the answer … it was you who said it. That’s the truth (…) It’s his last term! Since we started with consolidating the revision of the constitution” Mr Gueye who was Monday’s guest of the Grand Oral interview of APANEWS declared.
According to Seydou Gueye, “there is no need to be peremptory on the issue, we must refer to the constitution. If you read the constitution, you will realize that the room for maneuver to interpret is very slim, practically non-existent.”
He added: “The problem we had in the past, President Macky Sall has responded to it by limiting the number of terms, setting the duration of the term of the President of the Republic and by locking as much as possible the constitution”.
Justice minister Ismaila Madior Fall told the daily newspaper “Enquête” to reject “professors of law” speculating about the possibility of Macky Sall’s “seeking another term,” before affirming: “I think that the constitution is clear. In principle, it is the second and last term “of the head of state.
Elected in 2012 in the second round against Abdoulaye Wade (2000 – 2012) for a seven-year term, Sall organized a referendum in 2016 for an amendment to the constitution including the reduction to five years of the presidential term as well as the limitation to two terms in office.
Macky Sall, who is to be sworn in on 2nd April, has confirmed that the seven-year term (2012 – 2019) is his first term as head of the country.