The United States has issued a new press release through its embassy in Dakar, expressing support for the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) call to put pressure on President Macky Sall of Senegal to restore the country’s presidential election calendar.

This development comes after ECOWAS recently published a press release urging the Senegalese political class to “urgently take the necessary measures to restore the electoral calendar in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution of Senegal.”

In response, the U.S. embassy in Dakar released a statement, stating, “The United States supports the ECOWAS statement calling on Senegal to restore the electoral calendar in accordance with its Constitution. We have heard from a wide range of Senegalese political and civil society actors who share this view, and we continue to stay in touch with all relevant stakeholders to reiterate our support for free, fair, and timely elections.”

The U.S. statement is expected to increase the pressure on President Macky Sall and his supporters as they prepare for the new presidential election date of December 15, which was rescheduled from the initial date of February 25th.