Lessons from Senegal: The Will of the People is Sacrosanct

By Dolapo Aina

The Presidential elections which held on Sunday, March 24, 2024 was one election that the whole of West Africa and the African Continent watched with keen interests for several reasons which were pertinent to the regional bloc of ECOWAS and the Continental body of the African Union. In the West African region, Senegal has stood as a country with one of the most enviable political and democratic transition. This year’s election was not going to be different notwithstanding the myriad of political somersaults and political bottlenecks which the citizens of Senegal vociferously objected to. The two major candidates; Bassirou Diomaye Faye of PASTEF had the popular vote of 2,434,751 (54.28%) while Amadou Ba of the ruling party APR pulled 1,605,086 (35.79%).

For an on the ground and concise understanding of the dynamics of politics in Senegal, Dolapo Aina in search of answers and armed with some pertinent questions reached out to Senegal’s Dr. Fadel Ndiame, who is the CEO of Food Systems Transformation Solutions and the former Deputy President of AGRA and Nigeria’s Mr. Chris Ogunmodede, who is a consultant and policy analyst based in Dakar, Senegal.
In his own words, Chris Ogunmodede: “The conduct of the presidential election was as free, fair and transparent as an election could hope to be. There were virtually no reports of foul play anywhere and the results of the ejection generally reflected the will of the electorate.”

On the question about any doubts about the democratic processes in Senegal, Mr Ogunmodede further stated that: “I would say that I am a critic of the popular narrative about Senegal being a regional exception or “beacon of democracy in West Africa,” as is commonly said in mainstream discourse. While Senegal regularly conducts credible elections that reflect popular opinion, it is not immune to the same pitfalls of authoritarianism, weak party systems and political interference that other West African countries experience and the events of the last few months (and even the last few years) bear that out.”

On the factors that made the electorate vote in Bassirou Diomaye Faye as the new President, the Nigerian who resides in Senegal went thus: “Senegalese voters were largely disappointed with the tenure of President Macky Sall, who began his presidency with so much promise but soiled his reputation with his overreach and failure to ensure that Senegal’s macroeconomic indicators made a meaningful impact in the lives of people. The last straw was his ill-fated bid for a third term and imposition of an unpopular candidate on his party.”

Africans who followed the elections in Senegal voiced and chorused a ubiquitous question bordering about the uniqueness of Senegal’s democracy that the rest of Africa does not know about or unaware of. Mr Chris Ogunmodede posited and quoting him verbatim: “I would say that there is a lack of nuanced knowledge about Senegal’s political system that reflects the Anglophone bias of media coverage of Africa. But one thing other Africans must know is that for all Senegal’s shortcomings, its impressive civic participation beyond elections is something the rest of the continent can learn from.”

Senegal’s Dr. Fadel Ndiame described the just concluded elections positing that: “The elections and their outcomes were both exceptional and deeply significant in terms of the size of the victory of the opposition candidate. The irruption of PASTEF and its political discourse brought to the fore a narrative of change, a break away from the dominant system of patronage and mismanagement of public resources and corruption. It popularised a sense of deep hope for a more democratic, prosperous country, anchored on a strong ideology of political independence, shared economic prosperity and social inclusion which resonate very well with the aspirations of the Senegalese voters, especially the younger ones.”

Dr. Ndiame further elucidated that: “The biggest challenge that I see for the newly elected President and the opposition movement that brought President Faye to the Presidency, is to live up to the expectations of those who voted for them and the aspirations of the Senegalese population at large.”

On doubt(s) about the democratic processes in Senegal, the top agriculture expert went thus: “Yes, at many points in the process there were some worrying signs that the electoral process would not abide to democratic principles and constitutional rules. The most significant factors having been the imprisonment of the most popular candidates (who eventually) won the contest on a landslide, despite their last-minute release from prison and the large number of candidates. Luckily it was possible for the main political contenders to find an acceptable arrangement which enabled the continuation of the political process and the inclusion of some or the key political figures to compete for the vote of the Senegalese people. There were also some concerns about the integrity of the whole electoral process.”

On the possible factors that made the electorate vote in Bassirou Diomaye Faye as the new President of Senegal; Dr Ndiame posited that: “This requires more studies of the election results and how the vote distribution across region and demographics groups. But it seems like the leadership of PASTEF succeeded in articulating the concerns and aspirations of voters and especially the younger segments of the voters who were eager to sanction the ruling party and its candidates.”

Other contributing factors could have been the popular perception that the government of the day was compromising the constitutional rules, and abusively cracking down of the leading opposition party and leader; containing and curtailing the freedom of the independent media, while controlling the parliament and the judiciary. The election of President Diomaye is to be a popular referendum against that system. So said the former deputy President of AGRA.
On the question about Senegal’s democracy that the rest of Africa might not be aware of, Dr Ndiame wen thus: “Well, I would say Senegal has a historical tradition of democracy and constitutionally grounded rights for people and their institutions; while the system still needs to be strengthened to maintain checks and balances, and ensure an equilibrium between different centres of powers (political, economic, social and religious. In my view, this is what we are experiencing in Senegal which is simply; political and citizenry maturation processes that take time and require the good will of the leadership of all sectors (public, private, civil society, the religious and traditional). Ultimately for Senegal and any other country, the priority is to build and strengthen our institutions, guarantee the full independence of the judicial system, investing in the political literacy and education of the electorate, to enable their voices heard in a loud, but peaceful and democratic way.”

As President-elect Bassirou Diomaye Faye gets inaugurated as the President of Senegal on Tuesday, April 2, 2024, the citizens of the West African country are expectant and will hold their leaders accountable as they have always done. One major lesson from Senegal is that the unflinching will of the people must be obeyed by all and sundry including players, partakers and observers. And most importantly, the will of the electorate is sacrosanct still.