Kick-off of the legislative campaign in Senegal.
The different political coalitions set out, from Sunday July 10, to conquer voters with the aim of consolidating or obtaining, on July 31, the majority of the 165 deputies in the National Assembly.
The hemicycle is currently largely dominated by the presidential coalition Benno Bokk Yakaar (BBY or “United for the same hope”), which has 125 deputies supporting Macky Sall.
But the Yewwi Askan Wi (YAW or “Free the People”) coalition aims to challenge this established order at the ballot box, relying on Senegalese youth in search of change.
It is led by the main opposition figure, Ousmane Sonko, who finished in third place in the 2019 presidential election.
These two political camps, beyond the upcoming electoral issue, are also the main actors in a fiery pre-election period in the country.
“The roots of this climate of tension go back to last year”, specifies Caroline Roussy, researcher at the Institute of international and strategic relations (Iris).
The West Africa specialist is referring to March 2021, when Ousmane Sonko was arrested for disturbing public order on his way to a court summons.
Targeted by a complaint for rape by an employee of a massage parlor in Dakar, the 46-year-old deputy then denounced a judicial “plot” orchestrated by Macky Sall aimed at preventing him from running for president in 2024. Demonstrations for demanding his release quickly degenerated into riots, resulting in 14 dead and hundreds injured.
Shortages and frustrations
The deterioration of the socio-economic situation over the past year has not helped matters.
“Economically, the country has been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic with a decrease in its freight and trade, which has, among other things, led to an increase in the price of basic foodstuffs”, explains Caroline Roussy .
The war in Ukraine has also darkened the horizon: Senegal suffers, like the African continent, “a shortage of cereals and fertilizers”.
>> Macky Sall on France 24: "We are experiencing a shortage of cereals and fertilizers on the African continent"
“Added to this are the many frustrations due to the disintegration of basic social services, particularly in health,” continues the researcher.
A tragic news item, which caused great emotion in Senegalese public opinion, recently illustrated this problem: eleven babies died in the fire, caused by a short circuit, in a maternity ward at the public hospital. of Tivaouane (in the west of the country).
A drama that recalled what happened in April 2021 in Linguère, in the North, when four infants also perished, also in a fire.
The incumbent candidates of the opposition excluded from the ballot
And in June, a decision of the Constitutional Council added to this delicate socio-economic context to create a new peak of political tension between the majority and the opposition.
The country's highest judicial institution created uncertainty by confirming, on June 8, the decision of the Ministry of the Interior to reject the national list of incumbents (but not substitutes) of the Yewwi Askan Wi coalition for the legislative elections. – which amounts to excluding certain opposition figures, including Ousmane Sonko, from the ballot.
“The decision of the Constitutional Council is messy and poses a lot of problems, whether on the legal, electoral or political level in general,” explains Alioune Tine, a member of Senegalese civil society.
“The Constitutional Council took a very controversial decision and is now contested by the greatest jurists in Senegal.
Nobody understands the way in which he partitioned the lists between the incumbent and alternate candidates for the legislative elections.
Also on June 8, thousands of Senegalese demonstrated in Dakar against the rejection of the YAW coalition list, and more generally against power.
Ousmane Sonko, on the spot, had declared his intention to challenge the invalidation of his candidacy.
"When an order is manifestly illegal, you must disobey," he said.
"This demonstration is a warning to Macky Sall. We are launching our pre-campaign today. Our only enemy is Macky Sall".
The Senegalese president, accused of wanting to prevent the opposition from participating in the legislative elections under cover of an institutional decision, refuted this statement.
On France 24, he recalled that "a list which does not respect what the law says, is eliminated".
Before adding: “If we are a stable country, it is no coincidence.
We have an electoral code, it has been discussed for months."
But the verbal escalation between the majority and the opposition finally turned into confrontation.
A new demonstration, which had been banned by the authorities in particular for the risk of disturbing public order, degenerated on June 17, killing three people and injuring several.
Alioune Tine recalls that “demonstrations are a constitutional right in Senegal”.
“They are authorized and secured by public authorities, while those we have seen (in recent weeks, editor’s note) have been banned, there has been a lot of disorder, deaths and injuries as well as a lot of property ransacked” , deplores the man who also chairs the Afrikajom Center – a think tank that works in particular on respect for democracy and the rule of law.
The AAR Senegal list, which claims to be a possible third way for the legislative elections, for its part sent the protagonists of the last deadly demonstration back to back.
In a statement, she said she "regrets the country being held hostage by two coalitions, BBY and YAW."
Signs of appeasement
But against all expectations, the tension has eased slightly.
On June 28, the opposition gave up its banned demonstrations planned for the next day against the government.
Ousmane Sonko announced the cancellation of gatherings in Dakar and in several cities of the country after "calls from the people who expressed their concerns about the Tabaski festival (the biggest Muslim holiday in Senegal, editor's note)" on 10 July and "school exam period".
The YAW coalition, contrary to what it has been saying since the decision of the Constitutional Council, has also announced that it will finally participate in the legislative elections, for the sake of appeasement after the deadly clashes of June 17.
"Yewwi Askan Wi will go to these elections," said Ousmane Sonko.
“We have our list of substitutes and are represented in the 46 departments (of the country).”
This reversal “is a bit strange”, according to Caroline Roussy, who judges that “the lines are blurred on both sides” – whether in the presidential majority or in the opposition.
“Macky Sall does not specify his intentions, whether or not he wishes to run for a third presidential term in 2024, while social tension is there.
And Ousmane Sonko finally plays the game of the legislative elections, whereas it was unthinkable a week before.
Another event can also be perceived as a sign of appeasement: a Senegalese opposition deputy, in preventive detention for a month in Dakar for "offending the head of state", was released on bail on July 8 , after presenting his "apologies" to Macky Sall.
Cheikh Abdou Mbacké Bara Dolly is a member of an opposition coalition, allied to that led by Ousmane Sonko.
Alioune Tine wants to see in these last days a period of calm which opens.
“We are going towards a ballot where it is possible that there will be changes, with equal forces present.
And when the forces are equal and the stakes are high, there are often tensions of this type in Senegal, whether for the legislative elections or for the presidential election”, he explains, before concluding: “People want peaceful elections in Senegal.”
The summary of the
France 24 week invites you to come back to the news that marked the week
I subscribe
Take international news everywhere with you!
Download the France 24 app
google-play-badge_FR