Sri Lanka, Feb. 5 -- Police made arrests and fired tear gas as opposition supporters protested President Macky Sall's decision to postopne elections in Senegal.

Clashes erupted on Sunday as federal lawmakers prepared to debate a bill to formalise the delay of the February 25 vote.

Demonstrators rallied in the capital Dakar after leading opposition figures and candidates in the presidential election rejected Saturday's announcement and called on citizens to defend democracy.

Meanwhile, ECOWAS, West Africa's regional bloc, called for dialogue.

Among those arrested as the protests spread was former Prime Minister Aminata Toure, as well as Anta Babacar Ngom, one of the candidates in the postponed vote.

The government cut the signal of pr...