EP 8. Senegal Sizzles I African News Review 🌍

Senegal is preparing for upcoming elections, and this episode explores the key candidates, issues, and controversies surrounding the election. 

The outgoing leader's legacy and the challenges faced by opposition candidates are also discussed. 

The importance of female candidates and the role of the incumbent president are highlighted. 

Concerns about democracy, investor confidence, and wider continental issues are examined, along with their geopolitical implications. 

The episode concludes with a call to action for listeners to stay informed and engaged.

Chapters
00:00  Introduction to Senegal's upcoming elections
01:05  Key candidates in the election
04:19  Legacy of the outgoing leader
06:23  Controversies surrounding the current president
07:42  Challenges faced by opposition candidates
08:06  The importance of female candidates
09:52  The role of the incumbent president
11:25  Concerns about democracy and investor confidence
13:50  Wider continental issues and geopolitical implications
16:04 Conclusion and call to action

Transcript

Adesoji Iginla (00:00.878)
Welcome. I'm Adesoji Iginla again. Welcome to Adesoji Speaks Knowledge. Today we are looking at Senegal, a country situated in West Africa with a population of 18 million, of which 51 % are female. This country will be going, especially one of last Africa's enduring democracies, will be going to the polls on Sunday.

March 24, 2024.

In a region that has seen more than its fair share of military takeovers, Senegal has largely been unaffected by the events in the neighbouring countries. But getting here, that is, looking forward to the elections this weekend, has been testing times for the Senegalese population. Not least because the president, Marquis Hors, has been at the centre of a constitutional drama.

that seem to have engulfed the country in the preceding months. But come Sunday, March 24, 2024, 19 presidential candidates will be aiming to win over voters in a very short electoral campaign. The lineup of candidates make interesting reading, but we shall highlight a few.

For one, the leading opposition leader, Ousmane Sonko will not be partaking as he is bad from running in what he attributes to be a plot to keep him outside the loop. He has, however, endorsed a like -minded politician, Basiru Diomaye Faye in the upcoming election. Coincidentally, both men were recently released from prison.

Adesoji Iginla (02:00.27)
Faye was imprisoned in April 2023, charged with contempt of court and acts likely to compromise public safety. stemming from when he posted a message highly critical of the Senegalese judicial system.

Faye had promised to tackle corruption and renegotiate key contracts, from energy to fishing, in a bid to redistribute economic resources in a fairer way, which I think ties him well with Ousmane Sonko Another candidate on the ballot is former Prime Minister Ahmadou Ba. Observers say...

Voting for him would mean continuity with the current leadership.

Sonko has, however, described the candidature of Ba as if, in his words, if Ba were elected, he would be the president of foreign countries, a statement Amadou Ba has declared as slanderous.

Adesoji Iginla (03:19.054)
So what are the key issues in Senegal's upcoming elections? For one, the high number of youth unemployment is likely to be one of the top headaches for the incoming president, but this time with added urgency of the desperate level of things in the country.

Young voters will also hope that whoever becomes president can ameliorate the situation they're in and helping to stem the flow of people getting in rickety boats on their way to Europe. And we have seen in the news wires the disastrous consequences of such actions. But if things are this bad in Senegal, so what are the

What are the legacies of the outgoing leader?

Adesoji Iginla (04:19.374)
There are those who suggest that Macky Sall can clear some economic success with Senegal being the second strongest economy in Francophone Africa.

In addition, he recently started the construction of an industrial harbour set to become the largest in West Africa and also developed infrastructure aimed at making Senegal a large or a huge gas exporter. However, that reputation has been solid with the last three years of political turmoil in Senegal.

Deadly protests, internet shutdown and the arrest.

of political opponents have not done his reputation any good. But he is being very bullish about it saying he has nothing to apologize for. This is coming in light of calls making the rounds for him to tender an unreserved apology to the people of Senegal for the four deaths and political assent that he has led Senegal into.

in postponing the elections.

Adesoji Iginla (05:43.886)
But that would still have been the case that of postponing the elections where it is hands not forced by the Senegalese Constitutional Court who insisted that elections be held on March 24th against his planned delay until December 2024. However, in a recent interview with Watiga Mara, Macky Sall did however confirm

He will be leaving the presidential office on April 2nd, regardless of what the election results were.

In the same interview, Mr. Mwaura put it to him that his governing policies seem to be, challenge me and get into trouble. An assessment, Macky Sall saw was quick to push back on, stating his actions were guided by the Senegalese constitution. However, the actions on the ground suggest otherwise.

to the president's position. For example, a number of opposition candidates, namely,

Adesoji Iginla (07:04.598)
Mr. Faye, Khalifa Sall, the popular mayor of Dakar who have been unable to contest, have been convicted of fraud and corruption in trials that human rights groups have largely condemned as unfair. The Sonko case in particular raises suspicion. The legal cases are against Sall.

are considered witch hunts, according to the observers of Senegalese politics.

Adesoji Iginla (07:42.606)
The sole female in the contest, Miss Anta Babacar Ngom, has also not been spared her own run -ins with the police and law enforcement, which seems to follow the same pattern. Speaking of women running,

Adesoji Iginla (08:06.83)
The first woman to run for president in Senegal for years.

Anta Ngom, a 40 -year old business executive, is considered a voice for both women and young people. Both groups have been hard hit by the economic situations in Senegal, widespread unemployment and rising, constant rising prices. She has, however, promised to create millions of jobs and a bank specifically for women to support their economic independence.

In her words, the young girls I meet, I ask for my support. They do so because they know when a woman comes to power, she might put an end to their suffering. So I am not going to forget them.

Speaking of women, the last time two women ran, which was in 2012, in the presence of Professor Amsatou Saud Sidibe and Madame Dieng Duoma Diakhate, they both garnered less than 1 % of the votes and this is in a country where 51 % of the population are women. But it is...

generally agreed that their participation, especially that of Ms Ngom, is very important as women now make up more than 40 % of parliaments, one of the highest levels of political representation in Africa.

Adesoji Iginla (09:52.398)
On Sunday, Ms Ngom will be asking

to put all of that behind her and run a better race than her predecessors.

Adesoji Iginla (10:06.83)
But who won't be running in the race would be the incumbent, Macky Sall Because Macky Sall has decided, ultimately declined that is, to contest a third term. He however remains the focus of much of the public anger.

but did name his Prime Minister Amadou Ba as his running coalition's presidential candidate.

a position some see as a possibility of influencing the race. Could he play a crucial role in deciding the outcome?

Adesoji Iginla (10:52.482)
jury is out on that one. If in his words, if the president is elected on 24th of March, I will have the opportunity to hand over to him. Asked if it will be a peaceful transfer of power, he responded, even if he or she is not elected on the 24th, I would leave the presidential palace on the 2nd of April 2024. End quote.

What would Macky Sall be leaving on the record books? Macky Sall seemed to have taken Senegal into uncharted territories. For one, Senegal has never had a delayed presidential election before, nor had a sitting president toyed with the idea for running for a constitutionally dubious third term. A convention, Macky Sall

seem to have broken with until he dropped his running bid last year. These breaks with Senegalese convention has gotten the country's investors very worried.

Adesoji Iginla (12:14.222)
Keen observers of a possible turn

presidential elections, the investors are very spooked. A decision that followed, obviously tempered by the decision to delay the election, which seemed to have sparked protest, has raised concern about democracy in Senegal. As a result, some investors are wary about what would become of one

the polls integrity and possible outcomes.

based on who wins the elections might determine the economic priorities of the country. Although Senegal boasts of an economic boom, largely fueled by a growing oil and gas industry whose buoyancy has helped fund investment in the country's infrastructure, such as new roads and railways, the investors are, however, worried that Senegal could be affected.

by the economic policies led by Bassirou Faye and thus by Ousmane Sonko who is campaigning for economic change, a policy which seems to resonate with a large swathe of the Senegalese population who feel they have not benefited from the recent economic growth.

Adesoji Iginla (13:50.126)
There are other issues, aside from economic, that impacts what is going on in Senegal. For one is the wider continental issues. Eight successive coups in West and Central Africa in just three years have unsettled democracies, and Senegal might not be an exception.

And this situation has raised questions over which country might be next. The anti -French sentiment sweeping across French colonies could come into play. And the results from Sunday's election may just shape Senegalese politics for the foreseeable future. Speaking to the London Financial Times, Francois Conradie,

an analyst at the Oxford Economic Africa consultancy said, and I quote, since independence from France, the government of Senegal has been friendly to French commercial interests. Now you have Sonko a hard leftist who has promised to change the system and make it a fairer deal for the Senegalese worker.

The feeling of the opposition and the people in general is the Senegalese situation has been exploited by French business for a very long time. And that might just come into play with regards to the politics of how people decide what transpires in Sunday's election. That said,

All of the above would be on the people's mind when they finally get their say in an election that certainly no one in Senegal will be taken for granted.

Adesoji Iginla (16:04.75)
Thank you for listening and if you found value in that, please like, share and subscribe to Adesoji Speaks. Until next time, keep learning, keep reading.