Although he is in Geneva to present a report to the United Nations, Senegalese human rights activist Alioune Tine has his heart in Dakar, where a new president prepares to take power. “The elections were something magical. We feel like miracles,” he told me during a WhatsApp conversation.
Paradoxically, the founder of the Afrikajom think tank, who focuses on democracy, the rule of law and governance, spent the next 30 minutes explaining to me how the Senegalese managed to put an end to a terrible political crisis that threatened to torpedo their democracy thanks to their determination, solidarity and courage. Not through divine intervention or any witchcraft.
The results remain astonishing: on March 24, during the first round of the presidential election, his fellow citizens voted more than 54% for a candidate, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who was still a political prisoner two weeks before the election. Born in a modest rural environment, this 44-year-old former tax inspector, who had never before been elected to any position, will take the reins of the country of 18 million inhabitants by April 2, the date of the end of the mandate of his predecessor, Macky Sall. The vote took place peacefully. The transition of power promises to be just as calm.
Less than a month ago, however, we feared the worst for Senegalese democracy, reputed to be the strongest in West Africa since the country’s accession to independence in 1960. By trying to postpone it until December the election which was to take place at the end of February, the outgoing president lit a huge match.
When the opposition deputies were taken out of parliament manu militari so that Sall’s allies could alone endorse the postponement of the election, the fire caught. The latter was already brewing because Macky Sall’s main opponent, Ousmane Sonko, was in prison and had been disqualified from the election. The political violence of the last three years – which left more than 50 people dead – was still fresh in people’s minds.
There was a very strong mobilization of the people against the postponement of the elections. And it involved all sectors of society. Intellectuals, civil society organizations and unions, but also employers. The Senegalese did not want to go back.
Alioune Tine, Senegalese human rights activist
To this Senegalese revolt were added the voices of the European Union, the American Congress, Great Britain and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), among others.
In an unexpected gesture of courage, the magistrates of the Senegalese Constitutional Council, whom many believed to be subservient to President Sall, rejected the postponement of the vote.
Pressure from all sides ended up getting the better of Macky Sall, who, more than a month ago, turned to Alioune Tine and other human rights leaders in the country to negotiate a way out of the crisis. .
In mid-March, following the adoption of an amnesty law, Ousmane Sonko and his right-hand man, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, were released from prison. It was the latter who succeeded in presenting his candidacy for the presidency. “The young people carried out a very effective ten-day campaign and they succeeded in taking power,” said Mr. Tine. Macky Sall’s heir apparent, Amadou Ba, quickly recognized his electoral defeat.
While many feared that Senegal would go the way of many of its West African neighbors, where leaders are often seen clinging to power or being ousted in coups, the country instead the demonstration of its attachment to elections and political alternation.
This is a huge victory in this record year for the number of elections around the world, where the future of democracy will be as central an issue as the economy and global instability. Africa is no exception. In 2024, 19 national elections are due to take place across the continent, from north to south, including several in West Africa. Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Mali and Guinea all have polls on the agenda.
Of course, the Senegalese political transition does not guarantee that the new elected officials will be able to meet voters’ expectations, notes Gilles Yabi, doctor in economics and founder of another Senegalese think tank, WATHI. The new Senegalese president, a neophyte to power, has promised a “break” with the postcolonial system. In particular, he promises to replace the CFA franc, a legacy of French colonialism, to bring down the cost of living and to fight corruption. He will also have to deal with the jihadist threat which is spreading in the region.
“We will also have to see how the events of recent months and the political violence will be handled by the new government. If we learn lessons from the crisis, in terms of justice, institutions and democracy, it will be positive, despite the suffering that has been inflicted. If we don’t learn from it, we risk repeating the same thing again,” says the Senegalese analyst.
Alioune Tine shares this observation. He believes that Senegal will need a process of truth, reconciliation and justice. “We must purge hatred to find peace,” he said.
We must also salute the resilience of Senegalese society which has once again demonstrated that “to get rid of tyranny, we must take our courage in both hands and fight”, affirms Alioune Tine.
It’s not magic, but it sometimes has the same effect.