Senegal: Sall’s Last Act in Charge – Destroying His Legacy

By Prince Kurupati 

In an unprecedented move that has thrown Senegal into an uncharted constitutional crisis, the country’s President Macky Sall unilaterally shifted the presidential election dates from February 25 to later this year. The new election date has since been proclaimed as December 15 following a chaotic parliamentary vote.

Senegalese President Macky Sall appeared on state TV on Saturday, February 3. For those who have come to know President Sall, his immediate demeanour characterised by a serious expression on his face immediately suggested that all was not well. Indeed, as he uttered his first words and afterwards the accusations of corruption levelled at the Constitutional Court, it became evident that something more ominous was on the way. The ominous part came towards the end of the address as President Sall said he was rescinding the decree convening the presidential election set for February 25.

Why rescind the election date? Well, according to President Sall, the prevailing environment in the country is not conducive to conducting the election. This is largely necessitated by the fact that there are lingering questions on the integrity of the Constitutional Court. Currently, Senegalese lawmakers are investigating two constitutional council judges whose integrity in the election process has been questioned. Moreover, the President said the extended window will give the state time to look into the eligibility of prospective presidential aspirants including those who are currently barred from running due to various reasons. Rounding up, President Sall said conducting elections with these “troubled conditions” in place “could seriously undermine the credibility of the ballot by sowing the seeds of pre- and post-electoral disputes”.

Throughout President Sall’s reign especially his second term in office, Senegal has experienced several nationwide protests. Most of these were responses to the government’s heavy-handedness in dealing with opposition leaders chief among them Ousmane Sonko. The biggest and most fearsome protests occurred in March 2021 and June 2023 following the conviction of Sonko. The conviction effectively eliminated Sonko from the ballot as Senegalese law restricts candidates with criminal convictions from running.

In the aftermath of the announcement up to the next rescheduled election date, President Sall said “For my part, my solemn commitment not to run in the presidential election remains unchanged, finally, I will engage in an open national dialogue to bring together the conditions for a free, transparent and inclusive election.”

Lending some sort of ‘legitimacy’ to President Sall’s unilateral decision was the Parliament which voted to shift the election date to 15 December. The Senegalese leader got the backing of the Parliament late on Monday 5 February when 105 MPs in the 165-seat assembly voted in favour of the president’s decree. The vote was however passed by MPs aligning with President Sall’s coalition as all opposition lawmakers had been forcibly ejected from the August House.

While President Sall’s reasoning may seem noble, many in the country as well as observers from beyond Senegal’s borders are convinced that the rescission of the election date is motivated more by politics rather than propriety. After announcing that he would step down at the end of his second term as per the dictates of the Constitution, President Sall endorsed Prime Minister Amadou Ba as his preferred successor. In recent times, however, polls have shown that Ba’s ratings are at an all-time low. As such, a defeat in the upcoming election won’t be a shocker.

Compounding matters for President and Prime Minister Ba is the fact that Bassirou Diomaye Faye, the man being endorsed by Ousmane Sonko to stand in for him during the election as the candidate of the African Patriots of Senegal for Work, Ethics and Fraternity (PASTEF) is currently enjoying massive support all over the country.

Convinced that the decision to shift the election date is a political move by President Macky Sall is Francois Conradie, the lead political economist at Oxford Economics Africa who said, “Our reading is that Sall became convinced that Ba was going to lose to Bassirou Diomaye Faye, the radical running as Sonko’s stand-in, and chose to postpone the election to play for time.”

On the contrary, Moussa Diaw, a research lecturer at the Gaston Berger University in Saint Louis believes that President Sall’s worries and the decision to shift the election date is justified. Speaking to French publication Le Monde, Moussa Diaw said the decision to shift the election date is backed by the fact that the country needs “to be pacified before an election could be organised. Otherwise, there was a risk of unrest.”

By shifting the election date, President Sall has thrown Senegal into a constitutional crisis, something which has been likened to a constitutional ‘coup’ by governance experts. At law, President Sall’s second and final term in office expires on April 2. It means by this date an election should have been conducted and concluded with the incoming president already inaugurated. However, by shifting the election date to December 15, President Sall from April 2 to December 15 will be executing presidential duties outside of the constitutional mandate.

Describing the legal dilemma that has been necessitated by President Sall’s decree, Mucahid Durmaz, a senior West Africa analyst at risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft said, “The decision has thrown Senegal into uncharted waters of a constitutional crisis… The constitution requires elections to be organized at least 30 days before the end of the incumbent president’s mandate. Sall’s rule expires on April 2. And the decree detailing the electoral calendar must be released 80 days before the vote takes places. Even if he appoints a transitional president after 2 April, the legality of it will be disputed.”

Justifying his decision to shift the election date, the Senegalese president said the environment was not conducive and his supporters said any election done in the prevailing environment would lead to unrest. However, at the present moment, it is the decision that has ignited the unrest. Soon after the decision was announced, 3 of the 20 presidential candidates lodged their legal challenges to President’s Sall while others stated they would follow suit. As reported by Al Jazeera, authorities had to temporarily restrict internet access citing hate messages on social media, schools closed early and more protesters took to the streets. A private television channel Walf said it was taken off air and had its license provoked.

The events in the immediate aftermath show that President Sall’s decision has ignited the very same thing that he said he wanted to prevent. With it being described as a constitutional coup and widely condemned by many, it would have been prudent for him to quickly take back his words and let events flow as originally planned. All that’s happening now is just tainting the president’s image at the wrong time. More worrisome is that its significantly dissipates the chances of Prime Minister Ba’s chances of winning as and when the elections will be held.

Commenting on the whole debacle, Human Rights Watch concluded that “Senegal has long been considered a beacon of democracy in the region. This is now at risk.”

Both the African Union and ECOWAS have expressed regret at the decision to move the election dates. ECOWAS said it's concerned “over the circumstances that have led to the postponement of the elections”.

*Culled from February Issue of PAV Magazine