Senegal: a coalition of opposition parties looms for the next elections
View of Dakar, capital of Senegal Getty Images / David Else
Text by: RFI Follow
5 mins
The political pawns are moving in the country, six months before the local elections of January 2022. An opposition coalition, which includes at least the Pastef of Ousmane Sonko, the Senegalese Democratic Party of Karim Wade, the Party of Unity and Rally (PUR) and Taxawu Dakar is in the process of being formed.
While discussions are ongoing, no official announcement has yet been made.
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With our correspondent in Dakar,
Théa Ollivier
A coalition to unite against the presidential movement during the next local elections is the objective of this rapprochement between different opposition parties.
For the moment, four political bodies form this coalition, which is still in the making, but other movements should soon join them.
After more than two months of discussions today "
very advanced
", "
they managed to agree on the substance
", according to a source within one of these parties.
She specifies that points are still to be finalized, in particular on the communication or the reference documents.
For Assane Ba, of the Senegalese Democratic Party, the PDS founded by former President
Abdoulaye Wade
, the main thing is to form a new political grouping without divisions, a few months before the departmental and municipal elections.
This opposition coalition could be "
very important to increase the chances of winning local elections
" against the presidential movement, believes El Malick Ndiaye, communication manager of Pastef.
Facing the “
steamroller of the majority
”
Déthié Faye - non-aligned - explains that he is still under discussion before joining the coalition.
"
The rule is to go to the elections in coalition but we must take precautions because it must not burst because of conflict of egos
", he anticipates.
In a press release, Thierno Bocoum, leader of the Agir movement, explains to him that this coalition is a "
calculated and political alliance against the opposition
" and therefore refuses to integrate it.
But according to political analyst Babacar Justin Ndiaye, the opposition has no choice but to unite to face the “
steamroller of the majority
”.
This union during the elections will therefore serve as a test before the next legislative and then presidential elections in 2024.
Opposition members have realized that their only salvation lies in a coalition.
Moussa Diaw, professor and researcher in political science at Gaston Berger University in Saint-Louis
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