2024-01-12 11:03:16
In Senegal, the Constitutional Council is currently examining candidates for the presidential election on February 25, for which 21 candidates out of 93 passed the crucial sponsorship stage on Tuesday. Outgoing President Macky Sall announced in early July that he was giving up running for a third term. France 24 deciphers the issues of the election with Maurice Soudieck Dione, teacher-researcher at Gaston Berger University in Saint-Louis.
The list of candidates must be finalized by January 20. While the Constitutional Council of Senegal has been working for several weeks on the 93 files submitted for the presidential election on February 25, 21 candidates have now passed the crucial sponsorship stage on Tuesday January 9. Among them, the current Prime Minister and candidate of the ruling party Amadou Ba, the former mayor of Dakar Khalifa Sall, Karim Wade, son of former president Abdoulaye Wade, and the former minister and mayor of Linguère Habib Sy .
Several profiles from civil society also appear on this list including the economist Mamadou Lamine Diallo, the scientist specializing in infectious diseases Daouda Ndiaye and the obstetrician-gynecologist Rose Wardini.
The case of opponent Ousmane Sonko, currently detained for “calls to insurrection and conspiracy” once morest the state, was rejected as incomplete. Targeted by numerous legal proceedings since he was accused of rape in 2021, the latter accuses the power of exploiting the justice system to exclude him from the electoral process.
To take stock of the organization of the elections and the themes that emerge from this presidential election, France 24 spoke with Maurice Soudieck Dione, teacher-researcher at the Senegalese Gaston Berger University of Saint-Louis.
France 24 : Several dozen candidate files were rejected for problems related to to the number sponsorships. Can you explain to us why this step controversial?
Maurice Soudieck Dione : Sponsorships are a filter established from 2018 by Macky Sall to reduce the number of candidates for the 2019 presidential election. This provision generated a lot of opposition among the opposition because it was imposed without consultation. With this system, only five candidates were able to compete in the last presidential election, while around twenty others were eliminated for reasons that were not clearly understood. This gave the feeling that the government had chosen the candidates according to its own interests and not in a democratic manner.
Since then, conditions have evolved. The commission which decides on applications has been enlarged, applicants now have a right to review the process and members of civil society have been included.
However, problems persist. Candidates are required to obtain a number of sponsorships of between 0.6% and 0.8% of the electoral file, or some 44,500 sponsors, including at least 2,000 in seven regions. Even if this is prohibited, some citizens sponsor several candidates, which generates “external duplicates” and leads to the rejection of certain applications. Finally, the law provides that only candidates have access to the electoral file, for reasons of protection of personal data. The problem is that when they submit their files, they are not yet candidates. They are therefore judged on the basis of a document that they do not hold, which greatly complicates the process. There is still progress to be made so that the sponsorship system becomes more equitable and transparent.
Despite numerous appeals, opponent Ousmane Sonko has still not succeeded in having his candidacy validated. What impact might his absence have during the election?
Ousmane Sonko was removed from the electoral rolls following his conviction on June 1, 2023 for “corruption of youth”, in a morals case. He filed an appeal with the Ziguinchor district court [Casamance] who ordered his reinstatement in October. When such a court decision is rendered, it is immediate. But the Senegalese state appealed to the Supreme Court and referred the case to the Supreme Court. Contrary to its usual practice, it refused to decide and referred the case to the Dakar district court. The latter once more decreed that Ousmane Sonko must be reinstated on the electoral lists. However, the administration still refuses to respect the court decision. This is a blatant violation of the law.
He is told today that the deposit certificate is missing from his file even though it was paid. Once once more, we are putting obstacles in his way, but recourse is still possible. At the same time, his party, Pastef (African Patriots of Senegal for work, ethics and fraternity), has evolved and is no longer in the perspective of ‘Ousmane Sonko or nothing’. Another Pastef figure, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, plans to compete, although he is also in detention [notamment pour “actes de nature à compromettre la paix publique”, NDLR]. Furthermore, 13 Pastef deputies provided their sponsorships to another opposition candidate Habib Sy, of the Senegalese Democratic Party, who pledged to withdraw in favor of Sonko if he was finally authorized to run. Habib Sy is older and experienced. He was several times a minister under former President Wade and might capture a more mature opposition electorate, sometimes frightened by the passion and radicalism of Pastef.
Over the past year, several NGOs have warned of the shrinking of certain freedoms in Senegal as well as the repression during demonstrations linked to the Sonko affair, which left more than 20 dead. Is the political climate particularly tense?
The climate was indeed very tense before and following the arrest of Ousmane Sonko. But the situation has calmed down a lot since Macky Sall announced that he would give up a third term, which is clearly illegal under the Constitution. There was a consensus within the political forces once morest this third candidacy. Certainly the Sonko affair triggered the violent demonstrations that we have seen, but behind it was the question of the third term. Since she is no longer there, the protest has lost a lot of its strength and Pastef has had to review its strategy. He abandoned his violent confrontation with the regime and returned to institutional democratic competition. This is a good thing because in Senegal, the fight once morest the regime can quickly turn into the fight once morest the State, due to repressive measures such as the automatic deposit mandate for any maneuver likely to discredit the institutions.
Today the climate is calming, a wide range of candidates have passed the sponsorship stage and we are heading towards an inclusive election. Those of Khalifa Sall, Karim Wade, Habib Sy and Idrissa Seck [ancien Premier ministre, NDLR] alone represent four strong poles in the opposition, which is a guarantee of credibility.
What are the major themes emerging from this presidential race?
On the one hand, there are political-institutional questions with the strengthening of the rule of law, good governance, respect for the rights of oppositions as well as the reform of the democratic system. And on the other, the socio-economic aspects. Macky Sall has done a lot in terms of infrastructure, notably by launching programs to modernize cities and improve access to social services for rural populations. However, strategic errors were made in land use planning. We remained in the colonial bias with development work focused on coastal cities, and in particular Dakar which is already saturated, to the detriment of the interior of the country.
A program has been launched to accelerate the pace of agriculture but industrialization remains a weak point. We have a problem with the creation of businesses: most are foreign and the wealth created does not benefit the population enough.
Illegal immigration is also an important issue because we have a very young population, which is strongly affected by this economic context. Some people dream of the European El Dorado where they think they can get rich quickly. Sometimes they already have a situation but aim for greater accumulation capacities and therefore broader redistribution within their families.
Finally, there is the security issue, even if we talk little regarding it in Senegal, so far spared from terrorist attacks. Macky Sall took this issue very seriously by rearming and reorganizing the defense and security forces. But this question remains a source of concern given the regional situation. We are all concerned by the jihadist threat.
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