“I don’t know any candidate who refuses dialogue”, President Macky Sall confidently assured several Senegalese media on Thursday February 22. On Sunday, only three of the nineteen candidates selected for the presidential election had confirmed their presence at the “national consultations” convened the next day at 4 p.m. by the Head of State at the Diamnadio International Conference Center. Their primary objective: to set a new date for the vote which was to be held on Sunday before being postponed to February 3 by Macky Sall.
The Senegalese president having chosen not to choose while the Constitutional Council invited “the competent authorities” to organize the election ” as soon as possible “. So for now, they are Amadou Ba, the prime minister and candidate of the presidential majority, Idrissa Seck, the former president of the economic, social and environmental council and Boun Abdallah Dionne, a former prime minister of Macky Sall who served in the opposition, who will be responsible for helping it decide. “The setting of an election date is of a regulatory nature and only the president can set it by decree […] The participants in the dialogue could help him to this end”indicates the latter’s coalition to justify its presence.
To convince the sixteen other recalcitrant candidates for dialogue, the president issued them a final invitation for Monday at 11 a.m. In vain so far. “After firmly declining Macky Sall’s invitation, we decided, on the one hand, to refer the matter to the Constitutional Council and, on the other hand, to meet the people to organize real dialogue with them”these candidates declared in a joint press release on Saturday.
“By Tuesday, we will have a precise idea”
They say they refuse to “endorse a constitutional coup” but also denounce Macky Sall’s desire to extend these exchanges to candidates rejected by the Constitutional Council. He must receive them Monday noon. This perspective could offer a second chance to all those who say they “spoliated” of their right to run for president. Firstly, Karim Wade after the head of state justified the postponement of the election to avoid a “institutional crisis”, following accusations of corruption launched by the camp of the son of former president Abdoulaye Wade (2000-2012) against two judges of the Constitutional Council. In exile since 2016 in Qatar, Karim Wade saw his candidacy invalidated at the last minute due to dual nationality. “We must review everything to the extent that the process is biased”advocates today Nafi Diallo, the secretary general for communications of the Senegalese Democratic Party (PDS).
To support its cause, Mr. Wade’s party allied itself with around fifteen of the seventy-three candidates rejected by the Constitutional Council. Grouped together within a Democratic Front for an Inclusive Election (Fdpei), they judged, on February 20, ” non-negotiable “ resuming the process. “We could have set the date but we cannot do so until we have the arguments of each side. By Tuesday, we will have a precise idea”Macky Sall responded to them, in a way, two days later, while reiterating his commitment to handing over power on April 2, when his mandate expires.
Beyond the battle of press releases, supporters and opponents of dialogue have mobilized their support. A rally for a symbolic vote was prevented by the police on Sunday. The day before, a march in support of a few hundred supporters of Macky Sall and two sit-ins by civil society organizations opposed to the consultations took place smoothly.
Pastef leaders still in detention
The expected event that the president and his Minister of Justice Aissata Tall Sall had foreshadowed, however, did not occur. The two leaders of the African Patriots of Senegal for Work, Ethics and Fraternity (Pastef), the main opposition force, Ousmane Sonko in detention since July for “call for insurrection” and Bassirou Diomaye Faye, nominated candidate of the dissolved party and imprisoned since April for “contempt of court”, remained in detention at Cap Manuel prison on the eve of the opening of the dialogue.
Their release was nevertheless expected by part of public opinion after the release of more than 350 detainees for “pacify public space” and the announcement by the Senegalese president of the possibility of an amnesty law on the events that have taken place since the start of the political crisis in Senegal in 2021.
“It is up to his lawyers to submit a request for provisional release”warned Macky Sall on Thursday about the release of candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye to allow his participation in the dialogue. “I have not received any mandate from Bassirou Diomaye Faye to submit any request for provisional release,” his counsel, Moussa Sarr, responded curtly on Saturday, questioned by private radio RFM, while considering that “to free a political detainee, we do not need the intervention of a lawyer. »