Senegal's President Macky Sall to move to Morocco after concluding mandate

Senegalese President Macky Sall paid a private visit to the Kingdom of Morocco last weekend, according to Senegalese and foreign media.

The Senegalese president, whose mandate is coming to an end, is preparing to settle in Morocco with his family members, the sources said, adding that “those close to Sall were not informed of this trip.”

The visit, which was reported by the same media, comes a few weeks after the Senegalese president announced during a press interview his intention to settle and live in the Kingdom of Morocco after the end of his term; while observers who spoke to Hespress earlier confirmed that the choice of a number of presidents and political elites in the African continent as a final destination for settlement can be explained by a number of factors that make Rabat an attractive destination for them.

Among these factors are the political and security stability factor that distinguishes Morocco from other surrounding countries that are witnessing insecurity and growing security threats and risks on their borders, in addition to the factor of financial and economic stability and the historical relations that have long linked the leadership in Rabat with various African presidents, such as ousted Gabonese President Ali Bongo and his Congolese counterpart Mobutu Cissékou.

In the same context, observers stressed that the neutrality with which Rabat deals with the internal crises witnessed by a number of African countries, especially after the wave of military coups that toppled a number of rulers, especially in the Sahel and Sahara region, and its avoidance of interference in the internal affairs of these countries based on the principles that frame its foreign policy behavior, are all additional factors that serve Morocco’s continental reputation and enhance its attractiveness to former presidents.

Since last February, Senegal has entered an unprecedented political crisis, after President Macky Sall announced the postponement of the presidential elections that were scheduled for the 25th of the same month until next December; this sparked a wave of massive protests led by the opposition that shook the capital Dakar and a number of other cities in the country, resulting in a number of deaths and injuries.

A group of Western capitals criticized Sal’s decision, led by Washington, Paris and Berlin, in addition to the ECOWAS countries, which demanded that the presidential elections in this country be rescheduled.

The political tension in the country eased after the president reversed his decision, announcing that the first round of the presidential elections would be held on March 24, following the intervention of the Senegalese Constitutional Council, which ruled that the decision to postpone the elections was illegal.

He also decided to keep the current president in office until his successor is elected, before releasing a number of opponents who were arrested in connection with the protests; steps that were welcomed regionally and internationally, especially by the African and European Union.