By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Senegal often seen as one of the most stable democracies in the West African sub-region is on a journey towards endangering its high democratic profile, arising from the decision of the country’s leader, President Macky Sall to unconstitutionally elongate his tenure in office, following his decision to call off the Feb. 25 presidential election in which his successor is expected to emerge.
Sall, 62, was due to bow out of office on April 2 after his two-term constitutional limit. He was first elected in 2012, then re-elected in the first round in 2019. But in a twist of events that has since sparked off deadly protests never seen in decades in the country’s capital Dakar, Sall has mulled a delay in going to the polls. At least three persons have been feared dead while several others were injured in the ensuing crisis between security forces and opposition protesters.
The President attributes the delay in election to a dispute arising from the candidate list, alleging corruption within the Constitutional Council, a body he warned would undermine the credibility of the poll. The council has denied the accusations.
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The Parliament has since voted for Sall to remain in office till December 15. This however happened after the arrival of security forces at the parliamentary building, who forcefully took away the opposition lawmakers for not backing the Bill on elongated tenure for Sall. Analysts believe this is a breeding ground for political turmoil and anarchy that could drive the West African country the way of its neighbours, including Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, where military coups have replaced democratically elected government to the dissatisfaction of regional block, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and other foreign partners.
The recent development is believed to be a sharp departure from Sall’s assurance July last year when he promised not to seek a third term in office. “I have a code of honor and a sense of historical responsibility which command me to preserve my dignity and my word,” he explained to justify his choice.
Endless Harassment Of Opposition
Macky Sall has repeatedly used the instrumentality of the state to hound opposition figures in a way that violates rights to free speech, association and political participation. The Heritage Times HT recalls that on July 31, 2023, Senegal’s Interior Minister Antoine Felix Abdoulaye Diome had in a decree announced the dissolution of the opposition party, Patriotes africains du Sénégal pour le travail, l’éthique et la fraternité (Patriots of Senegal for Work, Ethics, and Fraternity, or PASTEF).
The authorities accused the party leaders of “frequently calling on its supporters to insurrectional movements, which has led to serious consequences, including loss of life, many wounded, as well as acts of looting of public and private property. “The latest are the serious disturbances to public order recorded during the first week of June 2023, after those of March 2021,” the decree said.
Additionally, the leader of the PASTEF party and a major presidential contestant, Ousmane Sonko has been a regular visitor to the courts and prisons, a development that has attracted demonstrations among his supporters, largely made up of the youth population. On July 28 last year, Sonko was arrested on charges of fomenting insurrection, undermining state security, creating serious political unrest, and criminal association, among others.
A court had already sentenced him to two years in jail on June 1 for corrupting youth, an effort aimed at undermining his chances to run in the election now beclouded in uncertainty.
“I have just been unjustly placed in custody,” Sonko wrote on Facebook on Monday, July 31, 2023.
“If the Senegalese people, for whom I have always fought, abdicate and decide to leave me in the hands of Macky Sall’s regime, I will submit, as always, to divine will,” he added.
Also, the Senegalese Supreme Court in January affirmed a six-month suspended prison sentence against Sonko for accusing Tourism Minister Mame Mbaye Niang of embezzling funds.
A court had in December last year ordered his reinstatement on the electoral roll, paving the way for him to contest in the election, after he had previously been barred following a conviction in a different case. Sonko had in a televised address in 2022 made the allegation against the Tourism Minister but was only charged in March last year at the peak of his preparation for the presidential polls.
Two months later, a court in Dakar extended his suspended sentence from two months to six months, putting his candidacy at risk. The suspended prison sentence of six months affirmed by the top court was to make Sonko ineligible to stand for the presidential election as provided in Senegal’s electoral code.
“Desperation For Self-succession”
When approached by The Heritage Times HT for a response, a political analyst and a lecturer at the University of Abuja Nigeria, Mr. Ubani Samuel accused Sall of fanning the embers of destruction of the country’s democratic machinery with the plan to succeed himself after reaching the term limit prescribe in the constitution.
He said the President is seeking to take a cue from other African leaders that have perpetuated themselves in office by continually amending the Constitution to make themselves life leaders.
“I think what is happening in Senegal is not unexpected considering that African leaders do not find it honourable to quit office when it is time. However, I find it worrisome that Macky Sall who has been in the corridor of power in the last two decades would put up a resistance to remain in office.
“He seems to have lost a sense of history in a very short while. How did he defeat former President Abdoulaye Wade in 2012? Was it not as a result of the solidarity he received from his countrymen and women that thwarted Wade’s bid for a third term in office? Don’t also forget that Sall was also the Prime Minister under Wade for three years from 2004 to 2007.
“Again, he acted as President of the Senegalese National Assembly from 2007 to 2008. Then from 2009 to 2012, he was the Mayor of Fatick where he was born.
“He was eventually elected the fourth President of Senegal in March of 2012, allowing him to take the country’s number one office on April 2, 2012. So he has been in one political position or the other in the last 20 years. What else does he want?
“What is playing out today is nothing but a desperation for self-succession which I believe will be seriously resisted, especially going by the modest achievement the country has made in stabilizing its democracy over the years and serious push by the opposition for the election to hold.”
If allowed to succeed, Sall may join the long list of African leaders who have managed to cling to power for decades either by the use of force, breaking established laws or bending the rules.
The Heritage Times HT recalls that in Equatorial Guinea, President Teodoro Obiang Nguema has spent 45 years in office, having come to power in a coup on Aug. 3, 1979. With nearly 5 decades in office, the octogenarian is the longest serving President in Africa.
Also, his counterpart in Cameroon, Paul Biya has been in office for 42 years and runs the country through a small circle of aides. Same goes to Republic of Congo where Denis Sassou Nguesso has been at the helm of affairs, howbeit interruptedly in the past 40 years. He was President from 1979 to 1992, then returned to office in 1997 after a civil war. He was re-elected in 2016 after the passing of a new constitution, then won a fourth mandate on March 2022.
In Uganda, the 80-year-old Yoweri Museveni who came to power since January 1986 has spent 39 years in office. He was re-elected in January 2021 for a sixth term after a contested campaign. A Supreme Court ruling which abolished age limit of 75 allowed him to stand for the contest and remain in office. There are several similar cases where leaders in Africa resorted to the distortion of the Constitution to give them leeway to remain in office.
Constitutional Council To Remedy?
The country’s Constitutional Council has voided the postponement of February 25 presidential election by Macky Sall’s regime. The Council in its decision Thursday last week held that the law adopted by Parliament to delay the vote was unconstitutional, a document authenticated by a source within the institution indicated.
Additionally, the constitutional body annulled Sall’s February 3 decree that modified the electoral calendar just three weeks before citizens could file out to vote. On the possibility of going ahead with the Feb. 25 election, the Council said it was “impossible to organise the presidential election on the initially scheduled date”. It however invited “the competent authorities to hold it as soon as possible”.
Expectedly, this has brought a ray of hope in the opposition camp. “This is a decision that puts Senegal back on track. I’m not surprised because everything that was happening was too big,” former prime minister Aminata Toure, who has joined the opposition was quoted as saying.
“We note that the law has been established,” said Dethie Fall, an opposition presidential candidate, who added that he was “pleased” with the decision.
It is not clear however, how far this could go in meeting the yearnings of the people whose desire to exercise their democratic franchise through the ballots is unpretentious, considering the fact that the implementation of the Council’s ruling is largely dependent on the state apparatus firmly under the control of Sall and his allies.
The embattled President has equally indicated interest to abide by the Constitutional Council’s ruling. In his reaction last Friday, Sall said he is committed to carrying out without delay the necessary consultations for the organisation of the presidential election as soon as possible.
The presidency said in a statement that Sall “has taken note” of the council’s decision and requests for the election to be held as soon as possible. “The president intends to fully execute the constitutional council’s decision,” it added. How soon this would happen will remain a puzzle in the minds of many observers.
