Opponent Ousmane Sonko made his first public appearance in months in Dakar on Friday afternoon, the day after his release from prison, alongside his second-in-command, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, candidate for the March 24 presidential election, also recently released. . In a white boubou, Ousmane Sonko, actor in a deadly standoff with power lasting more than two years, was welcomed by hundreds of supporters on his arrival near a hotel in the capital. “If the election goes well, I don’t think we will get less than 60%,” he declared to the press while calling on the Senegalese to “remain vigilant” because of the “rumors of corruption that are circulating.”
The Supreme Court, for its part, spared the country a new drama by rejecting on Friday the requests of disqualified presidential candidates, including Karim Wade, who requested the suspension of the decrees setting the date of the election and the duration of the campaign . The Court declared these requests “inadmissible”. A difficult to quantify crowd of at least several thousand jubilant Dakar residents gathered until late at night amid songs and dances to celebrate the release of Ousmane Sonko and Bassirou Diomaye Faye, in front of the Cape Manuel prison, the along their procession and in front of the home of the first.
An amnesty law
Bassirou Diomaye Faye, presidential candidate in Ousmane Sonko’s place and with his consent, appeared briefly, standing through the sunroof of his car to address the crowd, in blue boubou, white cap and national flag on the shoulders. Smiling after almost a year of detention and posed despite the clamor, he praised the “support and (the) solidarity” shown by his supporters. He put forward what his camp calls “the project” to mean that accession to the presidency is not a personal affair between him and Ousmane Sonko.
Bassirou Diomaye Faye and Ousmane Sonko benefited from an amnesty law adopted last week at the instigation of President Macky Sall to, said the latter, appease spirits after three years of tensions, revived by a last minute postponement of the presidential election. After days of conjecture, the law was promulgated and “it is because it is promulgated (that they) are out,” said Yoro Dia, presidential spokesperson.
The spontaneous gathering around them is the largest to have accompanied the candidates, 19 in total, since the launch of the campaign. It confirms the influence of Bassirou Diomaye Faye and much more of Ousmane Sonko, whose name was on everyone’s lips even though he was not a candidate. This ripple effect will be put to the test during the campaign. “Ousmane Sonko out (this) completely changes the situation of the election (…) Bringing him out into the middle of the campaign can have a multiplier effect,” assures Maurice Dione, professor of political science at the University of Saint-Louis.
“Left Pan-Africanism”
The official campaign opened on March 9 without Bassirou Diomaye Faye nor Ousmane Sonko taking part. The first was prevented from recording his messages for public television. His camp campaigned for him, presenting the program of a man who wants to be the “candidate for system change” and “left-wing pan-Africanism”, promises to restore Senegal’s sovereignty and will renegotiate, if it is elected, gas and oil exploitation contracts as well as defense agreements.
This platform declines the characteristic themes of Ousmane Sonko, whose diatribes against corruption, elites, multinationals and the economic and political influence exercised according to him by the former French colonial power, have made the success of Pastef, his party . The indictment of Ousmane Sonko by the courts, combined with economic and social tensions and the vagueness long maintained by President Sall over a third term, gave rise between 2021 and 2023 to different episodes of riots, looting and ransacking.
Dozens of people killed
President Sall has given up on running for office. But the postponement at the last minute of the presidential election initially scheduled for February 25 caused new clashes. Dozens of people have been killed and hundreds arrested since 2021 during unrest which has greatly shaken a country considered one of the most stable in West Africa shaken by force.
Ousmane Sonko, 49, was finally arrested at the end of July 2023, and charged with calling for insurrection, criminal association in connection with a terrorist enterprise and endangering state security. His party was dissolved. Ousmane Sonko was disqualified from the presidential election in January, his camp then designating Bassirou Diomaye Faye in his place. This secretary general of Pastef had himself been detained since April 2023. He was charged with contempt of court, defamation and acts likely to compromise public peace, according to one of his lawyers.
Bassirou Diomaye