APA-Dakar (Senegal) The shock postponement of Senegal’s presidential election initially slated for 25 February has plunged one of Africa’s most stable countries into political uncertainty, as President Macky Sall is said to be considering holding talks with his opponents, including Ousmane Sonko.
In recent days, the Senegalese capital Dakar and several regions of the country have been the scene of several demonstrations.
They follow the announcement on February 3 by outgoing President Sall that the presidential election would be postponed indefinitely, with three weeks to go, followed by a vote by members of parliament moving the polls to 15th December.
Several politicians, civil society figures and economic players joined the protests, calling for the election to be held on the date originally scheduled.
While the holding of the presidential election on 25 February would now seem uncertain, hopes for a way out of the crisis are increasingly pinned on all-inclusive dialogue, which President Sall called for in his surprise address on 3rd February.
The Senegalese leader is planning a roundtable bringing together all the political players, including his main opponent, Ousmane Sonko, who is currently in prison.
When contacted by APA News, Alioune Tine, one of the “facilitators,” declined to comment.
For his part, the influential architect Pierre Goudiaby Atepa said he had held talks with President Macky Sall and
opposition leader Ousmane Sonko with the aim of finding a way out of the current crisis. Goudiaby added that he had discussed with the president the possibility of holding elections at the end of May.
As for Ousmane Sonko, the architect explained that he was not opposed to the easing of tensions, but preferred to consult his camp and called for his imprisoned supporters to be released. According to Goudiaby, the President would not be opposed to such an idea.
The discussions envisaged, if they take place, should address issues of vital importance for the country’s future: a new date for the presidential election, reforms to the electoral system, the fate of Ousmane Sonko, and the release of political prisoners among other things.
Mixed reactions to dialogue
The idea of a dialogue between the two leaders has provoked mixed reactions in their respective camps. On the one hand, some see it as an opportunity to defuse the crisis and reach a consensus on the crucial issues at stake. On the other, there are fears that dialogue is nothing more than a manoeuvre on the part of President Sall or an attempt by Sonko to take advantage of the situation.
In an article published on Thursday 15 February 2024, a number of Senegalese intellectuals, including the academic and former minister Abdoulaye Bathily, asked: “What kind of dialogue are we talking about?
“We are neither fierce blind warriors who refuse all dialogue, nor naively pacifist saints who are prepared to engage in dialogue whatever the conditions. To divide ourselves on this basis into supporters and opponents of dialogue is to add confusion to the confusion that Macky Sall is evoking to justify his repeal decree,” the 72 signatories of the article declare.
These intellectuals, who are no strangers to the president believe that “any serious dialogue with Macky Sall in the current situation requires the necessary preconditions: the release of political detainees, an end to all restrictions and violations of public freedoms, and a return to democratic order.”
Otherwise, they assert, “all the essential sectors of the people currently committed to safeguarding democracy and the rule of law will be able and will have to promote an alternative dialogue together.”
More reluctant, some opponents such as Thierno Alassane Sall advise against any idea of dialogue with the current leaders. “To accept amnesty through dialogue is to choose to betray the interests of Senegal,” the leader of the ‘La Republique des Valeurs” party says.
For its part, the collective of families of “political prisoners” has also come out in force to condemn any idea of amnesty that might emerge from this dialogue. Like some 700 rural development professionals, it is calling for the electoral timetable to be respected.
For “the extension of Macky Sall’s term of office is equal to the extension of the prison terms of political prisoners.”
Candidates rejected by the Constitutional Council in the presidential election, members of the ‘Front Democratique pour une Election Inclusive’ (FDPEI), are calling on President Macky Sall to organise national consultations, instead of the announced national dialogue.
They recommend to focus on revising the election law.
“We appeal to the President of the Republic to organise as soon as possible, not a national dialogue, but national consultations on the reform of the electoral law and the institutions responsible for its implementation, and the resumption of the presidential election process,” declared Cheikh Tidiane Gadio, former Senegalese Foreign
Affairs Minister and leader of the pan-African citizens’ movement Luy Jot Jotna.
Meeting in central city of Diourbel on Thursday, members of the national association of village chiefs called on all members of Senegalese society to take part in the inclusive national dialogue initiated by President Macky Sall.
“I call on all Senegalese, members of both the ruling party and the opposition, all ethnic groups and religions, and all the country’s driving forces, to take part in the dialogue requested by the President of the Republic, His Excellency Macky Sall,” said Major Mamadou Faye, President of the association.
Mr. Faye stressed the importance of this dialogue for peace and national reconciliation. “This meeting for dialogue, for the restoration of peace, will enable us to come together, to shake hands religiously, for lasting national reconciliation, in respect for the constitution and the rule of law,” he said.
ARD/Los/ac/fss/as/APA