After a last half-day of confusion over the voting date, the political horizon suddenly cleared in Senegal on Thursday March 7. The Constitutional Council, which had proposed the date of March 31 the previous evening, finally aligned itself with the decree of the Head of State, Macky Sall, who summoned voters on Sunday March 24 for the first round of the presidential election . “The setting of the date of the election and the summoning of the electorate fall within the legal prerogatives of the President of the Republic,” indicated Mamadou Badio Camara, the president of the jurisdiction which, for a month and the postponement, on February 3 , of the election, initially scheduled for February 25, has continued to reject the solutions proposed by Macky Sall.
As the decisions of constitutional judges are not subject to appeal, “we can no longer touch this date,” assures law professor Babacar Gueye, also a member of the civil society platform Aar Sunu Election (“Protect our election”). “We’re already ready. All the electoral materials are available, the training is almost complete and the Constitutional Council has made it clear that we can use the ballots planned for February 25,” reassures a source at the General Directorate of Elections, while Senegal is in the waiting for a new government and for the official campaign to open on Saturday.
The outgoing Prime Minister, Amadou Ba, has already been replaced by the Minister of the Interior, Sidiki Kaba, in order to concentrate on his strategy. Just like the eighteen others vying for the first round of this election. They will only have thirteen days to try to convince voters, while the ballot seems most open. The electoral code provides for twenty-one but “the situation is exceptional, so the council can adapt and modify the legislation to ensure that the vote can be held. It’s about saving the presidential election,” underlines Professor Babacar Gueye.
As for the candidates, even if this decision still leaves some dissatisfied, the time has come to prepare caravans and arguments. After having tried to lodge an appeal to have the election fixed for March 31, and thus allow the candidates to have the time planned to campaign, candidate Habib Sy admits to having changed his mind “because everyone is looking forward to it. to end it.” Déthié Fall, candidate of the Republican Party for Progress, explains for his part that after having insisted on “a first round date before April 2”, he chose “for consistency” to comply with the decision approved by the Council constitutional. “Even if we have to adapt our strategy so that it is adapted to the Ramadan period,” says candidate Anta Babacar Ngom. We must be republicans and sacrifice ourselves to overcome this situation and emerge from the crisis. »
General amnesty voted in controversy
But among all the parties launched in the race, there is one which is in a particular situation. The Senegalese African Party for Work, Ethics and Fraternity (Pastef), the main adversary of power, still has its two main figures in detention, accused in particular of “calling for insurrection” and “attacking the state security”. Ousmane Sonko, its leader who failed in the presidential race after a conviction for defamation, has been in prison since the end of July 2023. His replacement candidate, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, has been in prison since April without having been tried.
According to their lawyers, both should benefit from the general amnesty law passed in controversy on the evening of March 6. This concerns all misdemeanors or crimes committed between February 1, 2021 and February 25, 2024, whether tried or not, “relating to demonstrations or having political motivations”.
“It is up to justice to release Bassirou Diomaye Faye when the law is promulgated,” explains his lawyer, Moussa Sarr, while it can only legally come into force six days after its vote, the time left to possible appeals. “The prosecutor can also decide to release him before the start of the campaign,” hopes however a close friend of Bassirou Diomaye Faye. The past month has not been short of twists and turns.
