On 24 March, as they have for the past six decades, the people of Senegal will go to the polls to choose their Head of State. This democratic event is an important part of our republican tradition. Since our founding fathers, we have collectively chosen the democratic path to entrust the destiny of our country to a man or a woman. The legitimacy of our leaders is thus derived from universal suffrage; and our attachment to this choice is a mark of the greatness of our people, inspires in us the respect of others and makes Senegal an exception.  As my friend Ibou Fall says, not without his characteristic mischievousness, Senegal is not an African country but a country in Africa. When, in the aftermath of the wave of independence, the continent was locked into tribal logics, we founded a solid nation oriented towards a common goal. At that time, dictatorships and authoritarianism were the norm, but we had a great man at the head of our State, who very quickly gave up the one-party system and opened up the democratic game. We were able to avoid military putsches when they were a traditional way of seizing power. We resolutely opted for democracy, pan Africanism and multilateralism.

Read the column – Senegal at the GECF: Continuing the Story

Since, without interruption, the public arena has been a battleground for ideas and programmes, with the sovereign people as the arbiter. On 24 March, after the turmoil and turbulence of the sequence that began on 20 January with the publication of the final list of presidential candidates, the people of Senegal are going to perform their civic duty. The ballot will be free and transparent, and the winner will be declared. The following day, the Senegalese will be free to go about their business. The democratic gap, in which each citizen represents one vote, will be closed to allow the Republic, with its promise based on merit, to regain its rights.

There’s no denying that this election is a special one. Our country is at a tipping point for several reasons. For the first time, an incumbent President will not be standing as a candidate for his own succession. The country is now a hydrocarbon producer, which promises a transformation of its economic structure, but also generates fears, as black gold is a powerful destabilising force in Africa.

Read the column – Mati Diop, Symbol of «Senegal That Wins»

On the social front, Senegal is emerging from three trying years with unprecedented waves of violence that have resulted in deaths, injuries and destruction of public and private property.

What’s more, for the first time a fascist presidential candidate is capable of winning the election. He is surrounded by a movement that benefits from the infrastructure of democracy but is not democratic; a movement that can rise to the top of the institutions of the Republic without being republican; a movement whose genetic profile is sedition, Islamism and intolerance.

Read the column – In the Soft Tropical Dictatorship of Senegal

People are sovereign and jealous of their sovereignty. Ours made choices in 2022 at the Municipal and Legislative elections, the consequences of which weighed heavily on our stability. We must remember the blockades of the National Assembly, which twice led to the gendarmerie having to intervene to allow the expression of democracy in the Hemicycle.
A close friend recently said to me: « You can’t want people to be happy against their will ». He is right, and I am a convinced democrat and a citizen viscerally attached to republican principles. Voters are sovereign and we must bow to their choice, whatever it may be. They have the choice of continuing under a regime of civil peace by choosing between candidates with diverse and competing projects but who remain within the republican arc. Or they can opt for the irreparable step of plunging our country into the abyss of fascism, after many of our neighbours have fallen into military regimes. 

Read the column – You Don’t Argue with a Fascist, You Fight Them

This choice between a horizon of peace and democracy and a drive towards adventure raises questions in my mind and should encourage us to be cautious, to show a sense of responsibility and to be extremely dexterous in the choice we make on 24 March.

As always when I despair of this world, I read or listen to the French writer and academic François Sureau. This time, he quoted Malraux, and said, « share a sort of trembling but real hope: life will prevail, love, creativity and political reform will prevail« .

By Hamidou ANNE / hamidou.anne@lequotidien.sn

  • Translation by Ndey T. SOSSEH