The Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS has urged the Senegalese authorities to urgently schedule a new date for the country’s presidential elections that was earlier postponed.

The ECOWAS Commission made the appeal in a statement issued on its website on Sunday.

Recall that the Senegalese President Macky Sall had on Saturday announced the indefinite postponement of a presidential election scheduled for February 25, just hours before official campaigning was due to start.

Sall, in an address to the nation, said he signed a decree abolishing a previous measure that set the date, because lawmakers were investigating two Constitutional Council judges whose integrity in the election process has been questioned.

The ECOWAS Commission said it has taken note of the decision of the Senegalese authorities to postpone the presidential elections, but “expresses concern over the circumstances that led to the postponement of the elections.”

The bloc therefore appealed to the authorities in Senegal to expedite the various processes to set a new date for the elections.

“The Commission further urges the entire political class to prioritise dialogue and collaboration for a transparent, inclusive and credible election,” ECOWAS said.

ECOWAS encouraged President Sall to continue to defend and protect Senegal’s long-standing democratic tradition, assuring that it would continue to monitor the situation in the West African nation.