In Senegal, “certain candidates have been left stranded”, alerted the Council for the Observation of the Rules of Ethics and Professional Conduct (Cored), Monday March 18, calling on the media for a more “balanced” treatment of the presidential election, the first round of which is to be held on Sunday March 24.
In fact, the campaign which ends this Friday remained polarized around two candidates: Amadou Ba, who wears the colors of the presidential majority, and Bassirou Diomaye Faye, those of the African Patriots of Senegal for work, ethics and the fraternity (Pastef), the main opposition force dissolved in July 2023 by the State. A proxy clash between the one that the outgoing president Macky Sall chose to succeed him and the right arm of Ousmane Sonko, whose candidacy was invalidated following his conviction by the courts.
While all eyes are on his two personalities, the fifteen other candidates still in the competition – Cheikh Tidiane Dieye and Habib Sy withdrew in favor of Mr. Diomaye Faye – among whom are heavyweights in Senegalese political life, finish running across the country. The campaign time was shortened to twelve days instead of the normal period of three weeks after nearly a month of uncertainty over the electoral calendar, following Macky Sall’s decision on February 3 to postpone the vote which was to to be held on the 25th of this month following accusations of corruption against members of the Constitutional Council.
Self-proclaimed “leader of the opposition”
To stand out from these two opposing camps on the political spectrum and attract the electorate, the other contenders for the presidential position readily present themselves as a “third way”.
“We are the only formation that can pick up votes in all camps since we are not radical opponents in the sense that we have no problem with the people in power but we are also very anchored and respected in the opposition », Says Bruno d’Erneville, campaign director of Aliou Mamadou Dia, the candidate of the Party of Unity and Rally (PUR).
Home visits, caravans in the streets and a reinforced presence on social networks, this opposition group, chaired by the Muslim religious leader Serigne Moustapha Sy, was one of those which was able to mobilize the most in recent days. The party will, however, have to seek more votes outside the brotherhood circle after placing in fourth place in the presidential election behind Ousmane Sonko and former Prime Minister Idrissa Seck.
The latter, who rallied to power in 2020 before returning to the opposition, had walled himself in recent months in a silence described as “strategic” by those close to him. But the latest, very sober, outings of the man who proclaims himself “leader of the opposition” because of his score of 20.5% in the last presidential election still do not reassure his activists. “It is perhaps the effect of surprise due to the controversy over an election date which justifies his attitude, but the “Idy” [Idrissa Seck] of 2024 is not the same as that of 2019 which drew crowds. We have the impression that he is campaigning just for form,” underlines Al Hassan Ba, political journalist.
The PDS supports Bassirou Diomaye Faye
In one of the highlights of the campaign, the former mayor of the city of Thiès met in his stronghold Khalifa Sall, the former councilor of Dakar and candidate of Taxawu Senegal, with whom he shares many points in common. The two are in fact playing the card of experience and especially of “appeasement” after three years of tension between the ex-Pastef and the government which left more than sixty dead according to Amnesty International. “I am not the candidate of revenge nor the candidate of continuity”, proclaims Khalifa Sall who announced Thursday the rallying of 73 parties and movements to his coalition and is trying to cast a wide net among the non-aligned.
Karim Wade, the candidate of the Senegalese Democratic Party (PDS) rejected by the Constitutional Council due to dual nationality, announced Tuesday that he had spoken with the former mayor of Dakar as part of his “reflections” for possible support for one of the contenders in the presidential race. The former minister finally relied on his father, Abdoulaye Wade, the former president of Senegal (2000-2012), who announced Friday that his party “has chosen to provide its full support to the Diomaye Faye coalition » for Sunday’s vote.
In a very open election in which few observers venture to predict a victory in the first round, all voting instructions are closely scrutinized. “The smallest of votes could make the difference, the candidates on the fringes can ultimately be the key in the event of a second round,” warns journalist Al Hassan Ba.
