The Senegalese opponent Ousmane Sonko, who has been at the center of a political-legal soap opera for several years and is excluded from the presidential election on February 25, still wants to keep his candidacy alive and Bassirou Diomaye Faye, one of his closest collaborators, could be an understudy play. However, the task is likely to be difficult for the former tax inspector, who has been imprisoned since April last year for “contempt of court” and “slander”.
They are stunned, but do not admit defeat. Supporters of opponent Ousmane Sonko are calling for a parade after the Constitutional Council of Senegal published on Saturday January 20 the final list of candidates for the February 25 presidential election, on which the name of their candidate does not appear. Champion.
Without much surprise, the wise men ruled out the candidacy of the mayor of Ziguinchor since he was sentenced for the last time on January 4th to a six-month suspended sentence, which made him “barred for five years” in a case in which he committed himself to the Minister Mame Mbaye Niang faced Tourism and Leisure.
The list published by the Constitutional Council concludes three years of an endless political-judicial soap opera and a violent standoff between the state and the opponent, who denounced a conspiracy to prevent him from taking part in the election.
Ousmane Sonko, who had been imprisoned since the end of July for incitement to insurrection, criminal conspiracy in connection with a terrorist enterprise and endangering state security, was also sentenced to two years in prison in June for “youth corruption” but was acquitted of rape charges in a massage Salon in Dakar.
After several months of demonstrations and deadly incidents, Pastef, Ousmane Sonko's party that was dissolved on July 31, 2023, is now calling on its supporters to calm down and focus on the presidential election. “We demand a holy union of the entire opposition, all the excluded, the appointment of an independent body to organize the elections, but most importantly, we must elect, Bassirou Diomaye Faye. By being a candidate, it is that Ousmane Sonko who is the candidate,” responded to RFI Birame Souleye Diop, vice president of the dissolved party.
The also imprisoned Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who was officially designated as ex-Pastef's Plan B in November, saw his candidacy confirmed by the Constitutional Council on Saturday. The former tax inspector from the National School of Administration of Senegal, co-founder of Pastef in 2014, is considered very close to Ousmane Sonko and shares the same anti-system discourse characterized by religious conservatism. An imitation that leads some of his critics 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 for a takeover. “He is a long-time associate of Sonko, with a fairly similar background, who not only benefits from the support of the party base, but also belonged to the highest level of the Pastef structure,” analyzes political scientist Gilles Yabi, founder of Wathi, a bourgeois think tank based in Dakar. “He embodies the Sonko movement, i.e. 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 flaws. The “BDF”, which lost the 2022 local elections in its municipality, has no voter base and appears far from achieving the popularity of the charismatic Ousmane Sonko.
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His status as a “prisoner candidate” also raises doubts about his ability to run his campaign. Bassirou Diomaye Faye has also been in prison since April last year for “contempt of court” and “defamation of a corporation”. In a message on Facebook, he criticized several judges in their handling of the case between Ousmane Sonko and Tourism Minister Mame Mbaye Niang.
“The law does not provide any provisions for candidates in this situation. He risks campaigning from prison unless the President of the Republic arranges an exceptional situation that allows him to leave temporarily,” explains AFP constitutionalist Babacar Guèye.
We demand the release of political prisoner Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar Faye, candidate for the presidential election of February 25, 2024, so that he can campaign like all 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 among the credible options, as is Cheikh Tidiane Dieye, former spokesman for Ousmane Sonko in the 2019 presidential election. These two candidacies were also confirmed on Saturday evening by the Constitutional Council.
“From now on, candidates are expected to withdraw in favor of the one who will have the support of Ousmane Sonko. He will make the final choice and determine the one who will wear the colors of the ex-Pastef.” . From my point of view “In my view, the fact that Ousmane Sonko himself is not a candidate does not mean that the Sonko movement will not be well represented and that it will not pose a real threat to the outgoing candidate's power”, appreciates Gilles Yabi.
A “very open” choice
With less than a month and a half to go, there is still uncertainty about the outcome of this two-round election, analysts say. Senegal has never experienced an election with so many candidates, twenty in total compared to five in 2019. Another unprecedented fact: President Macky Sall, elected for seven years in 2012 and re-elected in 2019, declared in July that he would not do would show up again.
The outgoing head of state has appointed Prime Minister Amadou Ba as his successor, but several heavyweights in the majority are against this choice, including former prime minister Mahammed Boun Abdallah Dionne and former minister Aly Ngouille Ndiaye, who is among the 20 selected candidates.
“This is an election that promises to be very open. Although Ousmane Sonko and Karim Wade cannot run, we still have a diverse political offering. But in this type of election, the question of financial resources will play a role, as will control over the media space, which could go more in the direction of the candidate and Prime Minister Amadou Ba,” judges Gilles Yabi.
Also read: Senegal is “on the path to an inclusive presidential election” despite the sponsorship hurdle.
“There remain concerns about the reliability of the electoral lists and the integrity of the electoral process itself,” the political scientist continued. “This must be the priority of all political forces and civil society: ensuring that Senegal has a transparent process and that everyone who wants to vote has the opportunity to do so.”
In a report published on Monday, the NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) expressed concern about a deteriorating climate as the February 25 deadline approaches and condemned “the repression of the opposition, the media and civil society.”
“President Macky Sall's promise to organize free and fair elections contradicts the fact that the authorities have been filling prisons with hundreds of political opponents for three years,” writes the human rights NGO.
The allegations were brushed aside by the justice minister, who was speaking in Geneva to the Human Rights Council during a regular review of the situation in the country.
Without mentioning the HRW report, Aïssata Tall Sall assured that in her country “all political and freedom of expression is recognized, accepted and exercised” and that the presidential elections will be held “in peace, in stability and in accordance with republican and republican principles.” will organize democratic principles.
