Monday March 18 in Kaolack, in western Senegal, Amadou Ba appears on stage in a supercharged atmosphere. Thousands of supporters cheer the ruling coalition candidate, Benno Bokk Yakaar (BBY). He has already been crisscrossing the country for ten days, animated by a new ardor. Everywhere, the former prime minister, known for his restraint and his impassive demeanor, harangues the crowds. Alongside him, ministers and senior government officials take part in the party.
After weeks of crisis following the postponement of the presidential election – initially scheduled for February 25 – during which Amadou Ba was heckled within his camp, the BBY machine is finally launched. A few days before the election, Sunday March 24, the coalition and its numerous relays across the country are mobilized behind their champion. The competition promises to be tough: the former head of government faces 18 candidates, including Bassirou Diomaye Faye, nominated by opponent Ousmane Sonko, made ineligible by a conviction.
If Amadou Ba can now count on his camp, it is because the president himself has ordered ranks to close. A turnaround which took place on the night of March 12 to 13. That evening, returning from a meeting in the religious city of Tivaouane, where the tenors of BBY were once again conspicuous by their absence, Amadou Ba went to the presidential palace, canceling the planned Saint-Louis stage after breaking the fast.
More isolated than ever, the government candidate must speak with Macky Sall. Did the latter order his troops to “drop” him? The question bothers Amadou Ba, especially since certain media have just relayed the hypothesis of a change of candidate in favor of Mahammed Dionne. Also a former prime minister, this historic traveling companion of the president was, according to his supporters, “the choice of the heart” of the head of state when choosing his heir apparent. Finally rejected, he has since moved to the opposition while maintaining a certain influence within the Alliance for the Republic (APR), the ruling party, which he co-founded.
This deleterious climate worries the majority. “It seemed clear that the distrust of the anti-Ba was, if not maintained, at least tolerated by the president. A handful of officials from the BBY coalition, the president’s eldest son and an eminent religious guide organized the nighttime meeting so that the two men could speak to each other,” confides an informal advisor to Macky Sall.
“There has never been any instruction from the president or the leaders for us to dissociate ourselves from our candidate,” retorts Pape Mahawa Diouf, spokesperson for BBY, for whom the tensions at the start of the campaign are linked to a organizational concern: “We were faced with an unprecedented transition problem. For the first time, an outgoing president was not a candidate for succession. But he is at the head of the party and the coalition. And Amadou Ba did not have control over his majority and his party, which complicated the management of the campaign. »
“Little slingshot.”
A reframing was still necessary. The day after his meeting with Amadou Ba, the head of state summoned around a hundred executives from the presidential party. Since then, at each meeting, the heavyweights of the coalition have appeared as fervent defenders of their candidate. Proof that Macky Sall remains the order giver of the BBY machine. “The president had no choice. He noted that certain leaders of the coalition considered his support for Amadou Ba too timid. He suffered a little slingshot,” says Madiambal Diagne, journalist and biographer of Amadou Ba and Macky Sall.
Will this support be sustainable? Designated candidate after Macky Sall gave up a controversial third mandate, Amadou Ba sparked an outcry upon his appointment as prime minister in September 2022. Leading figures have since continued to portray him as a “traitor”, judging him to be illegitimate in representing the coalition, particularly because of his late joining the APR. They also accuse this wealthy senior official of having formed a “clan within a clan”.
The distrust almost turned into the settling of scores. Accused in mid-January by the Senegalese Democratic Party (PDS, opposition) of having corrupted two judges of the Constitutional Council to obtain the elimination of their candidate, Karim Wade, Amadou Ba saw part of his camp gang up against him . It was the deputies of its majority, allies of circumstance with the PDS, who voted for the creation of a parliamentary commission of inquiry and ratified the postponement of the presidential election. An unprecedented crisis which plunged the country into uncertainty until the intervention of the Constitutional Council, which imposed the holding of the vote before the end of March.
Throughout this turbulent sequence, tenors maintained the pressure in order to obtain the head of Amadou Ba. Among his most virulent rivals is the Minister of Tourism, Mame Mbaye Niang, close to the presidential couple. He is credited with the role of unofficial spokesperson for the head of state. Because despite the controversial outings of his foal, Macky Sall has never reframed him publicly.
“In private, the president never attacks Amadou Ba, but we feel a certain distrust of him. It’s irrational. There is this contradiction in keeping it while letting its gunslingers demolish it, regrets a regular at the palace. As for Amadou Ba, he sinned by his lack of will to bring his camp together. Even in this campaign, he surrounded himself with his own team, some of whose members did not come from the APR. Some fear being excluded from the management of power in the event of victory. »
An effective duo
An ambivalence which has hovered over relations between the two leaders for a decade. In 2013, Amadou Ba, former director of taxes and domains, joined the government. At the head of a ministry of economy and finance with broad responsibilities, he is gaining influence within the apparatus and internationally, notably thanks to the Emerging Senegal Plan (PSE), the flagship economic development program of Macky Sall.
The strong-willed president and his level-headed minister form an effective duo. It is the second who supervises the negotiations and the release of funds from foreign partners. In France, he established close relationships with his counterparts in finance and big business. This network arouses the suspicion of the palace. In 2019, his powerful ministry was split in two. He is exfiltrated to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The position allowed him to strengthen his diplomatic relations in Europe and the United States, before being sacked again eighteen months later.
After two years away from power, the former big financier was recalled in September 2022. Macky Sall named him prime minister, a position he had abolished in 2019 and which was previously occupied by Mahammed Dionne. “Default” candidate for some, “best choice” for others, Amadou Ba positions himself in the “continuity” of the president. On a ridge line. “He must reassure Macky Sall’s fans while showing that he has his own personality to stand out from them,” explains Babacar Ndiaye, political scientist at the Wathi think tank.
In this troubled election, Amadou Ba will also have to face radical opposition led by the ex-Pastef (African Patriots of Senegal for Work, Ethics and Fraternity). Ironically, during his time at the tax department, he established close ties with Ousmane Sonko and his candidate, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, then placed under his authority. It is also a part of their electorate, disadvantaged youth, that he is trying to convince, not without contradictions.
“By endorsing Macky Sall’s record, which is also his own, he risks being the catalyst for criticism regarding youth employment at a time when emigration has strongly resumed. Furthermore, after three years of political unrest and around sixty deaths, the Senegalese have little taste for the postponement of the election and the amnesty law, because there is a need for justice. They could demonstrate it,” continues Babacar Ndiaye. It is up to Amadou Ba to also ensure the survival of his coalition, held with an iron fist for twelve years by Macky Sall.
