Broadcast Media Africa has learned that Senegal’s Communication Ministry has suspended the signal of Walf TV, a privately owned television station, accusing it of inciting violence.
BMA understands that the National Audiovisual Regulatory Council was consulted before ordering Walf TV to “temporarily cut off its signal for inciting violence.” The move was reportedly a result of the station’s broadcast of images of protests in Dakar, the capital, triggered by the postponement of the presidential elections, which were scheduled for February.
Wal Fadjri, the media group that owns Walf TV, confirmed on social networks that the State had definitively withdrawn its license after receiving a call from an official of the Communication Ministry.
Clashes broke out in Dakar on Sunday between security forces and demonstrators protesting against the postponement of the presidential election. President Macky Sall suspended the election indefinitely on Saturday, citing a dispute over the candidate list and alleged corruption of constitutional judges.
This move was met with opposition from protestors who accused Sall of using “fallacious reasons to postpone the election.” The protestors, led by opposition figures, barricaded roads and set fire to tyres, prompting police to fire tear gas canisters to disperse them.
Lawmakers are set to meet to consider a bill postponing the presidential election for six months. The Senegalese Constitutional Council approved 20 candidates for the presidential election last month, and campaigns were scheduled to begin on Feb. 4.
