19 candidates competing in the presidential elections in Senegal (French)

Dakar -

On March 24, Senegalese will elect a new president for the country after a period of political turmoil, attempts to restrict the opposition, and a street movement that aborted a decision to postpone the elections.

Senegal adopts an electoral system similar to the one adopted in France, according to the two-round system, where any candidate needs to obtain more than 50% of the votes cast, as a decisive criterion to win in the first round.

If none of the candidates exceeds the required threshold, a runoff will be held between the two candidates who received the highest percentage of votes.

The candidate needs to obtain the necessary endorsements of 0.6% of the electoral base, or 13 deputies, or 120 mayors and heads of a local council.

The president is elected for a term of 5 years, renewable once, according to the constitution amended in 2016.

Current Senegalese President Macky Sall announced that he will not participate in the upcoming presidential elections (Getty)

Difficult elections

Nearly 7 million Senegalese are heading to elect a new president for the country, and despite the turmoil that has marred the scene in the country over the few months preceding the voting round, Dakar appears capable of maintaining constitutional mechanisms through which power is transferred.

Senegal set a precedent by not running for a new term by current President Macky Sall, in compliance with the constitution, which limits the right to hold office for two consecutive terms.

Thus, Sall's first term, which began in 2012 before its number was determined, was implicitly counted.

The population of Senegal exceeded 18 million people by the middle of this month, according to population growth estimates provided by the United Nations.

The age group between 15 and 64 years constitutes the highest percentage, approximately 56% of the population, and approximately 52% of them live in cities.

20% of young people suffer from a high unemployment rate.

They constitute one of the elements in the formation of active public opinion and participation in the political process, but they are not the only factor in determining the direction of the ballot boxes.

Senegal is going through a turbulent period. After the economy recorded a performance that was considered the best on the continent in terms of recovery from the effects of the Corona pandemic and achieving growth rates that reached about 6.5% according to indicators of the African Development Bank Group, it returned and sank into the furnace of high inflation rates in conjunction with the implementation of reform policies recommended by the IMF. International.

Reforms included raising taxes and rationalizing public spending.

The Fund said in a report by the end of 2023 that “winds are blowing against the Senegalese economy as a result of the Russian war in Ukraine and the possibility of an increase in the level of internal political tension.”

But the possibility of recovery remains as the government turns to managing the main resource sectors, especially energy, according to the International Monetary Report.

Strong competition

19 candidates are competing to win the votes of the Senegalese, including the strongest from both camps, the one who is close to the current president with his wide influence in the country, and the one who is close to the opposition movements, some of whose symbols have addressed the voting base well.

The candidates' campaigns and the first round of voting - at least - take place during the holy month of Ramadan, in a country with a Muslim majority of more than 95% of the population, which is the first time in its history.

It is also the first election since independence in which the incumbent president does not participate, making Sall the first president who will not lose an election to his opponents.

Who are the most prominent candidates?

Candidate Amadou Ba is described as a candidate for power (Reuters)

Amadou Ba

He is described as a candidate for power, from the Alliance for the Republic Party. Upon Sall's arrival to power, he assumed several ministerial portfolios and then headed the penultimate government in the state of Sall. He resigned less than two months before the election date to devote himself to his campaign.

He is known for his technical competence and enjoys high popularity, especially in the capital, Dakar.

Candidate Khalifa Sall is accused of corruption (Reuters)

Khalifa asked

It is based on a political legacy and popularity within the ranks of the Socialist Party, which ruled the country under Presidents Lepopold Senghor and Abdou Diouf.

He assumed the mayor of the capital and was pursued by corruption charges and court rulings that previously led to him being denied candidacy before he was released by presidential pardon.

Candidate Idrissa Seck is also being pursued by administrative corruption charges (Reuters)

Idrissa Sc

He has history in politics as a former prime minister and mayor, and was also pursued by administrative corruption charges. He broke away from his alliance with former President Abdalla Wade to join President Sall, before facing off with him for the presidency in the 2019 elections and coming in second place.

Passero Diomai Fay

He remains the most prominent opposition candidate in the elections, based on the full support of the head of the most prominent opposition Pastif party, Ousmane Sonko.

After being excluded from the list of candidates by the Constitutional Council, Sonko nominated a candidate with his right-hand man, and the two men were released a few days ago under a presidential pardon that included “those involved in riots” that accompanied the movements opposing the postponement of the elections.

Karim Wade, the former minister and son of former President Abdoulaye Wade, who holds French citizenship, was also excluded from the list of candidates due to his ineligibility, as the Senegalese constitution stipulates that any presidential candidate must hold exclusively Senegalese citizenship.

The opposition factions did not succeed in rallying around a single candidate, but Pastev's candidate may be the most likely to be among the opponents.

The scene of Dakar after the announcement of his and his companion Sonko's release gives a simple idea of ​​the extent of the popular rally, especially among the youth, around Sonoko's proposals represented by the Bassero Diomai Fai campaign.

Legacy and democracy

The Ministry of the Interior is responsible for organizing the mechanisms that lead to voting, and the Independent National Electoral Commission is responsible for the monitoring process. It consists of 12 members who are not affiliated with any political parties or movements. The commission submits an official report at the end of the electoral process.

In the post-vote-casting stages, the Constitutional Court and the Court of Appeal in Dakar decide on appeals, and the National Council for Audiovisual Regulation assumes the role of monitoring the media’s compliance with laws related to electoral propaganda.

The upcoming elections are expected to lead to the selection of the fifth president in the history of Senegal since independence, and the country has become accustomed to following special democratic traditions in the transfer of power since its independence from France.

The peaceful transfer of power did not prevent it from going through periods of political turmoil, and periods of loud and sometimes bloody protests, but all of them were without posing a threat to internal peace, as Senegal did not know the interference of the military or security establishment in a gross manner in the political process, to be different from an environment witnessing unrest. Coups, and external influence that manipulates stability and internal security.

Before independence, Senegal experimented with local elections under colonialism on a small level, not exceeding a few municipalities, then they were followed by elections for local deputies and a representative in the French Parliament, as was the case in France’s colonies before their independence.

After one-party rule under the presidency of Leopold Senghor, multipartyism entered Senegal in 1978, but presidents retained the right to run for an indefinite number of consecutive presidential terms.

Abdou Diouf ruled for a quarter of a century, and Abdallah Wade for 12 years until Mekki Sall ousted him in the 2012 elections and introduced a constitutional amendment during his first term that limited the number of presidential terms to “two consecutive terms.”

Source: Al Jazeera