Highlights: Senegal: what contributed to the election of Bassirou Diomaye Faye and what awaits him in the short term. How could the one who was the “plan B” of a political party dissolved by the authorities win the Senegalese presidential election in the first round? And what awaits the future head of state in theshort term? Response elements. RFI’s special correspondent in Dakar, Charlotte Idrac, explains what worked and what didn't.

The opponent Bassirou Diomaye Faye, still in prison two weeks ago, will become the fifth president of Senegal. How could the one who was the “plan B” of a political party dissolved by the…

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Senegal: what contributed to the election of Bassirou Diomaye Faye and what awaits him in the short term

The opponent Bassirou Diomaye Faye, still in prison two weeks ago, will become the fifth president of Senegal. How did the one who was the “plan B” of a political party dissolved by the authorities win the Senegalese presidential election in the first round? And what awaits the future head of state in the short term? Response elements.

Members of Bassirou Diomaye Faye's campaign presenting a book titled "The Project" as he holds a press conference in Dakar, Senegal, March 25, 2024. AP - Mosa'ab Elshamy

By: RFI Follow

This presidential

victory

Senegal

is the result of a profitable strategy for the opposition and a sanction for the regime of the outgoing president, Macky Sall, after twelve years in power.

There was a sort of “

alignment of the planets

”, underlines RFI’s special correspondent in Dakar,

Charlotte Idrac

First, what worked was the program, what supporters of Ousmane Sonko's camp call “

the Project

”. Project which provides for changes in practices and mode of governance. A “

break

” with “

the system

” which has found wide resonance, particularly among young people.

Ousmane Sonko not having been able to present himself, the strategy was to present his “

understudy

” as being his alter-ego, beyond his person, the one who embodies this “

Project

”. Hence the campaign slogan “

Diomaye mooy Sonko

” (“Diomaye, it’s Sonko”). Bassirou Diomaye Faye therefore clearly benefited from the aura of this mentor who has the ability to mobilize crowds.

In the opposite camp, conversely, Amadou Ba, the former Prime Minister, appeared as the candidate of “

continuity

” and he was weighed down by the negative part of the outgoing head of state's record. , Macky Sall: problems of governance, corruption, feeling of injustice. And then there was the violence of recent years through the standoff with Ousmane Sonko. This constituted a “

red line

”, Francis Kpatindé said this Tuesday morning on RFI.

What place for Ousmane Sonko?

After this election, one of the questions that arises is that of the role that Ousmane Sonko will play. He was the ex-Pastef’s “plan A” for the presidential election. Convicted by the courts, he was therefore unable to appear. Bassirou Diomaye was “Plan B”. How will the two co-founders of the political party dissolved by the authorities coexist?

“

There is no presidential bench, there is only one presidential chair, and this chair is made for only one pair of buttocks

,” said Francis Kpatindé, during the special edition of RFI.

Is there a possibility that the paths of the two men will diverge? Seydi Gassama, director of Amnesty Senegal, thinks so: “

I believe it is also a risk. We saw what happened in Gambia between Ousseynou Darboe and Adama Barrow. But I believe that Sonko is still a very intelligent man. He and Bassirou get along so well that I think this crisis will not happen.

And this is also what Amadou Ba, representative of the elected president, insists. He confirms

Ousmane Sonko's “

republican

” posture : “

We will find the necessary place for him because he will still have to play an important role in the life of the country. But the most important thing is that we don't create a story of duality or anything. I think the two agree very well on how to govern the country, and that is the most important thing for stability.

What place then? This will be linked to the campaign program of the ex-Pastef, to its institutional aspect, in particular, the rebuilding of institutions, said Bassirou Diomaye Faye, Monday evening March 25.

Valdiodio Ndiaye, electoral expert, sees a possible distribution of roles: “

As they said that, from now on, the President of the Republic will not be party leader, Sonko takes care of the party and he takes care of the State. That might be an option.

A first hypothesis. Seydi Gassama, director of Amnesty Senegal, formulates another: “

Perhaps future president of the National Assembly? What depends on Parliament while Bassirou manages the state?

Senegal: what contributed to the election of Bassirou Diomaye Faye and what awaits him in the short term

Senegal: what contributed to the election of Bassirou Diomaye Faye and what awaits him in the short term

What place for Ousmane Sonko?

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