They are stunned but do not admit defeat.
The supporters of the opponent Ousmane Sonko are seeking a parade after the publication, on Saturday January 20, by the Constitutional Council of Senegal, of the final list of candidates for the presidential election of February 25, on which the name of their candidate does not appear. champion.
Without much surprise, the Sages ruled out the candidacy of the mayor of Ziguinchor, due to his final six-month suspended prison sentence on January 4, making him "ineligible for five years", in a case opposing him to Mame Mbaye Niang, Minister of Tourism and Leisure.
The list published by the Constitutional Council closes three years of an endless political-judicial soap opera and a violent standoff between the State and the opponent, who denounces a plot intended to prevent him from participating in the election.
Incarcerated since the end of July for calling for insurrection, criminal conspiracy linked to a terrorist enterprise and endangering state security, Ousmane Sonko was also sentenced to two years in prison for "corruption of youth" in June but acquitted of charges of rape in a massage parlor in Dakar.
After several months punctuated by demonstrations and deadly incidents, Pastef, Ousmane Sonko's party, dissolved on July 31, 2023, is now calling on its supporters to calm down and focus on the presidential election.
"We demand a sacred union of all the opposition, of all those who have been excluded, the designation of an independent body to organize the elections, but most important, we must vote, Bassirou Diomaye Faye. By being a candidate, it "It's Ousmane Sonko who is the candidate", reacted to RFI Birame Souleye Diop, vice-president of the dissolved party.
Officially designated in November as ex-Pastef's plan B, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, also incarcerated, saw his candidacy validated on Saturday by the Constitutional Council.
Co-founder of Pastef in 2014, this former tax inspector, from the National School of Administration of Senegal, is considered very close to Ousmane Sonko, sharing the same anti-system discourse, tinged with religious conservatism.
A mimicry that pushes some of his detractors to call him a “clone”.
The unprecedented situation of a “prisoner-candidate”
At 43, the former trade unionist appears to be the most legitimate candidate to take over.
“He is a long-time companion of Sonko, with a fairly similar background, who not only benefits from the support of the party base but who also belonged to the highest level of the Pastef structure,” analyzes political scientist Gilles Yabi , founder of Wathi, a citizen think tank based in Dakar.
“He embodies the Sonko movement, that is to say the youth and the desire for renewal of the political class.”
However, the candidacy of the right-hand man of the mayor of Zinguinchor is not without several flaws.
Defeated in its municipality in the local elections of 2022, “BDF” has no electoral base and seems far from achieving the popularity of the charismatic Ousmane Sonko.
See also “We have nothing against France” assures Senegalese opponent Ousmane Sonko
His status as a “prisoner-candidate” also raises doubts about his ability to lead his campaign.
Bassirou Diomaye Faye has also been in prison since last April for "contempt of court" and "defamation against a corporate body".
In a message on Facebook, he criticized several magistrates in the handling of the case between Ousmane Sonko and the Minister of Tourism, Mame Mbaye Niang.
"The law does not provide provisions for candidates in this situation. He risks campaigning from prison, unless the President of the Republic arranges an exceptional situation to allow him to leave temporarily, indicates to the AFP constitutionalist Babacar Guèye.
We demand the release of political detainee Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar Faye, candidate in the presidential election of February 25, 2024, so that he can campaign like all the other candidates.
GMS, pic.twitter.com/Y8cAmJBIqN
— Guy Marius SAGNA (@GuyMariusSagna) January 21, 2024
This unprecedented situation could give other alternative applications a chance.
Habib Sy, a former member of the Senegalese Democratic Party (PDS), is also one of the credible options, as is Cheikh Tidiane Dieye, former spokesperson for Ousmane Sonko during the 2019 presidential election. These two candidacies have also been validated Saturday evening by the Constitutional Council.
“From now on, it is expected that candidates will withdraw in favor of the one who will have the support of Ousmane Sonko. It is he who will make the ultimate choice and will designate the one who will wear the colors of the ex-Pastef. From my point of view "From a point of view, the fact that Ousmane Sonko is not himself a candidate does not mean that the Sonko movement will not be well represented and that it will not constitute a real threat for the candidate of the outgoing power", estimates Gilles Yabi.
A “very open” election
According to analysts, with less than a month and a half to go, uncertainty hovers over the outcome of this two-round election.
Senegal has never experienced an election with so many contenders, twenty in total compared to five selected in 2019. Another unprecedented fact: President Macky Sall, elected in 2012 for seven years, and re-elected in 2019, declared in July that he would not show up again.
To succeed him, the outgoing head of state has designated Prime Minister Amadou Ba, but several heavyweights from the majority are opposed to this choice, including former Prime Minister Mahammed Boun Abdallah Dionne and ex-minister Aly Ngouille Ndiaye who is among the 20 selected candidates.
"This is an election that promises to be very open. Despite the impossibility for Ousmane Sonko and Karim Wade to be candidates, we still have a diversified political offer. But in this type of election, the question of financial means will play a role, just like that of control of the media space, which could rather go in the direction of the candidate and Prime Minister Amadou Ba", judges Gilles Yabi.
Read also: Senegal is “heading towards an inclusive presidential election” despite the sponsorship barrier
“There remains concern regarding the reliability of the electoral lists and the integrity of the electoral process itself,” continues the political scientist.
“This must be the priority for all political forces and for civil society: ensuring that Senegal will have a transparent process and that everyone who wants to vote will have the opportunity to do so.”
In a report published Monday, the NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) expressed concern about a degraded climate as the February 25 deadline approaches, denouncing "the repression exercised against the opposition, the media and the civil society".
“President Macky Sall's promise to organize free and fair elections is in contradiction with the fact that the authorities have been filling the prisons with hundreds of political opponents for three years,” writes the human rights NGO.
Accusations brushed aside by the Minister of Justice, who spoke in Geneva before the Human Rights Council during a periodic review of the situation in the country.
Without mentioning the HRW report, Aïssata Tall Sall assured that "all political and freedom of opinion (were) recognized, accepted and exercised" in her country and that it would organize the presidential election "in peace, in stability and in compliance with republican and democratic principles.
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