Concerns were raised regarding the validation of the Samm Sa Kaddu list, led by Dakar Mayor Barthelemy Dias. Having been definitively convicted in the Ndiaga Diouf case, there were fears he could lose his eligibility if the government had challenged his candidacy. However, the Constitutional Council has validated his participation. Frustrated with the performance of his former allies who are now in power, Dias and his coalition seek to establish a cohabitation government, positioning themselves as staunch opponents of the current regime.
Dias has accused the new authorities, including Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko, of failing to fulfill their promises to the Senegalese people. He has been promoting old videos of Sonko to underscore that the ruling party’s leader has not upheld his commitment and is urging voters to hold this administration accountable at the polls on November 17.
The campaign has seen frequent tensions between caravans of Samm Sa Kaddu and PASTEF, culminating in incidents such as machete attacks on Sonko’s supporters in Saint-Louis on Monday, leading to arrests of some security personnel from the Samm Sa Kaddu movement.
“We are witnessing a worsening situation. Hope has turned to despair, and dreams have devolved into disillusionment. In less than a year, the new government has marked itself by the suppression of individual and collective freedoms and the imprisonment of dissenting voices,” stated Barthelemy Dias, a former member of the Socialist Party (PS) who has allied with Khalifa Sall, his predecessor as mayor of Dakar, who received nearly 2 percent of the votes in the last presidential election.
Dias characterized President Bassirou Diomaye Faye’s regime as emblematic of abusive dismissals in public enterprises, clientelism in recruitment, and corruption scandals involving state entities such as the Autonomous Port of Dakar, the Senegalese Agency for Rural Electrification (ASER), and the National Office of Sanitation of Senegal (ONAS). He also condemned the high tax burden on private businesses, the suspension of construction projects, threats to social cohesion and national unity, and missteps in diplomatic policy.
“My fellow citizens, together we can reverse this trend by establishing genuine governance based on respect for the separation of powers,” he stated, emphasizing that the upcoming legislative elections represent a “decisive moment for clarity” to end what he referred to as amateurism at the top levels of government. In addition to his critiques, the Samm Sa Kaddu coalition is presenting voters with a legislative contract that values the contributions of “valiant female pioneers” in development, the youth whose energy fuels the nation, and the elderly whose wisdom guides their actions. This contract also addresses the needs of rural communities, businesses, workers, people with disabilities, students, artisans, fishermen, and the diaspora.
ODL/ac/fss/abj/APA