in Senegal, some opponents give up demonstrating against President Macky Sall

A demonstration to say no to a president who does not want to give up his place. In Senegal, opposition parties are calling for a rally on Friday, February 9, against President Macky Sall. The head of state saw his mandate extended by 10 months after canceling the presidential election scheduled for a few days. A coup d’état, a putsch, these are the words of the opposition. Many Senegalese disagree with their president. But some fear expressing their anger in the streets.

In the street with friends from the University of Dakar, where he was still studying a few months ago, Pathé Diop became a delivery driver to support his family. He would have liked to be able to vote on February 25: “No one agrees with Macky Sall. But there’s nothing we can do about it!”, he regrets. The riots of 2021 and 2023, these dozens of deaths, the young man remembers them.

“It’s better to keep your arms crossed”

He will not show his anger at Obelisk Square, not far from here: “It’s too risky, there are too many victims. If I go there, they could imprison me and I’ll lose my job. So I prefer to go to work. Better to stay idly, leave everything between the hands of God.” Not taking to the streets would mean consenting to what El Hadj Sall calls a “coup d’état”: “We are absolutely not afraid of anything. Going to the streets to break things, no! What interests us is to hold a peaceful demonstration, to express our opinion about what is happening.”

The teacher will also be on strike all day at the call of his union represented by Ndongo Sarr: “The objective is to call the authorities to reason because it is not admissible that a President of the Republic can arrogate to himself the right to extend his mandate.” Before the demonstration, the big Friday prayer: the country’s imams are called by civil society to speak out and condemn the postponement of the elections.