By Omotosho Victor Fiyinfoluwa (SIWES student, Federal Polytechnic Ado-Ekiti)
Senegal President Macky Sall faces opposition backlash after postponing the presidential election to February.
Mobile internet access in Senegal was suspended for the second time this month, as authorities banned a march against the delay.
President Sall’s decision to move the vote to December sparked a crisis with three fatalities in clashes between protesters and security forces.
The Ministry of Communication, Telecommunications, and Digital Energy cited the spread of subversive hate messages on social media as the reason for the suspension.
This move follows a similar restriction eight days prior, when parliament supported Sall’s decision.
Critics, including rights activists and international partners like the United States and the European Union, condemned the decision.
Mobile data access was restored the next day, but the shutdown echoes a similar move in June amid heightened tensions in Senegal.
The recurrent measure of cutting mobile internet reflects the government’s attempt to control mobilization and communication through social networks, drawing strong criticism from rights activists.
