Dispatch of a Joint AU-ECOWAS Mission to Senegal / The African Union reiterates its appeal to the Senegalese stakeholders for a peaceful, free and fair electoral process

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, February 21, 2012/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- The Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union (AU), Dr. Jean Ping, continues to follow closely the development of the situation in Senegal, on the eve of the presidential election, whose first round is scheduled for 26 February 2012.

The Chairperson of the Commission reiterates the AU's appeal to the Senegalese political

actors and all the other stakeholders to demonstrate utmost restraint and to refrain from

any action likely to heighten the current tension. He hopes that all the actors concerned will

demonstrate a high sense of responsibility, as demanded by the circumstances, in order to

guarantee a peaceful and free and fair electoral process that will consolidate the remarkable

democratic achievements made by Senegal throughout its contemporary history.

The Chairperson of the Commission expresses the wish that the mission led by former

President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria and Mrs. Chinery‐Hesse, member of the AU Panel of

the Wise, will be able to contribute to defuse the tension and help Senegal overcome the

present difficulties, so as to ensure the organisation of a democratic, free and fair

presidential election in the best conditions of calm and serenity.