Between stupidity and condemnation, cascading reactions

Senegal plunged into uncertainty. During a televised address on Saturday, February 3, Head of State Mackie Sale announced the indefinite postponement of the vote, hours before the start of the campaign for the 20 candidates running for the presidential election on February 25.

“Our country has been dealing for several days with a dispute between the National Assembly and the Constitutional Council in open conflict against the background of alleged cases of corruption of judges,” he explained.

Believing that Senegal “cannot afford a new crisis” after episodes of violence in March 2021 and June 2023, the president announced the establishment of a “national dialogue” for “free, transparent and inclusive elections”, reaffirming his commitment not to contest elections. for the office.

The announcement had the effect of a bombshell in the ranks of the opposition who accused the head of state of wanting to stay in power.

Judges suspected of corruption

The root of this political crisis is the exclusion of Kareem Wade’s candidacy for the presidential election. The candidate was excluded from the race because he still held French nationality when he submitted his application. According to the constitution, only Senegalese and only Senegalese candidates can compete.

In response, his party called for a parliamentary inquiry to shed light on the conditions for removing candidates. Karim Wade’s supporters say they suspect the two Constitutional Council judges of having “dubious connections to certain candidates”, particularly Amadou Ba, the prime minister and Mackie Sale’s designated heir.

Last Thursday, MPs overwhelmingly approved the formation of this parliamentary commission of inquiry. At the same time, another candidate, Rose Vardini, whose candidacy was approved by the Constitutional Council, was placed in police custody for “fraud and the use of fraud in the judgment”, also suspected of having dual French citizenship. -Senegalese.

A political maneuver?

For President Mackie Sale, these elements are serious enough to disrupt election planning. “These ambiguous situations can seriously damage the credibility of elections by creating the seeds of pre- and post-election litigation.”

But this decision raises many questions in Senegal, especially since the deputies of the ruling party themselves voted in favor of the creation of this parliamentary commission of inquiry. While they claim they want to clear the honor of their candidate Amadou Ba, the opposition criticizes the maneuver to torpedo the presidential election and avoid the defeat of the majority candidate.

“We have never seen a postponed presidential election in Senegal, that is the record of the Macky years,” criticized former Prime Minister Aminata Touré. “We are ready to go to the polls, he knows very well that his candidate will be defeated in the first round,” said Mackie, a former ally of Cell, himself barred from the presidential race by the Constitutional Council.

Contested within his own camp, Prime Minister Amadou Ba faces two dissident candidates: former Interior Minister, Elie Ngouli Ndiaye, and former Prime Minister Mohamed Boun Abdallah Dion, who was once director of the Office of the Head of State.

But in general opinion, the main threat comes from the main opposition candidate, Osmane Sonko, chosen to replace him in the presidential election, after his candidacy was invalidated.

Reacting to the decision to disrupt the election, Amadou Ba, a lawyer and supporter of Basiro Diomey Fayé, decried the arguments of “incredible leniency” indicating that the commission of inquiry was formed only on “suspicion of corruption”.

Seydou Gaye, a spokesman for the ruling APR party, in contrast raised “a very serious pre-election controversy”, and asserted that the Constitutional Council should be “above all doubt”. The “transparency and integrity” of the vote are the priorities of Mackie Saul, who, according to him, “cannot be suspected of wanting to retain power, stay there or be a candidate”.

uncertain territory

The president’s announcement has drawn criticism, even from his political opponents. An ad hoc facilitation committee made up of several civil society organizations condemned the postponement of the elections, criticizing the “unilateral and abrupt suspension of the electoral process”.

During his speech, the President did not give any indication about the future election calendar, calling for an “open national dialogue to create the conditions for free, transparent and inclusive elections”. The Office of the National Assembly on Saturday adopted a bill for a “maximum six-month postponement”, at the initiative of Karim Wades’ coalition. A delay that could lead to President Mackie Sale staying in power until the end of his second term which is set to expire on April 2.

In their press release, the ad hoc committee members stressed the importance of “respecting the provisions of the Constitution regarding the duration of the mandate of the President of the Republic”.

Others question the legality of Mackie Sale’s decision which nullified the presidential election by decree. “By respecting the separation of powers, I will not be able to intervene in the conflict between the legislative power and the judicial power,” affirmed the president, thus justifying the disruption of the electoral process.

But for Babacar Gueye, professor of constitutional law at Cheikh-Anta-Diop University in Dakar, the decision “is not based on any valid legal basis.” The president is the guarantor of the institutions and the initiation of a parliamentary inquiry into alleged cases of corruption in the Constitutional Council certainly shows that he is “working well”, he surmised on RFI.

Condemning the “constitutional coup d’état”, several presidential candidates announced the start of their campaigns on February 4 as originally scheduled, despite the disruption to the electoral process.