If the electoral process has caused considerable unease between the political class and the Constitutional Council, it is Macky Sall who has found himself in an uncomfortable position. He will have to find the right formula by trying to pick up the pieces with a dialogue that does not have the support of everyone. How do you create a strong consensus under these conditions? Or should we maintain the status quo? Questions for a President.

This Monday, Senegal should have woken up with a President elected or with two candidates qualified for the second round of the Presidential election. It had been scheduled for 25 February, but it was a missed opportunity. The mishap of 3 February suspended the whole process, contributing to the widening of a political wound. For the time being, a plaster must be carefully applied to try to close it.

How can we break this political and institutional deadlock? President Sall believes that the electoral architecture can be rebuilt through a dialogue scheduled for Monday at the Abdou Diouf International Conference Centre (Cicad) in Diamniadio. At the end of the discussions, a new date for the first round of the presidential election will be set tomorrow. The final word will then go to the Constitutional Council, which had ruled that it was impossible to hold the ballot on 25 February.

Electoral Process: Macky Maintains the Fog

Today, however, this is far from evident. With the country divided into electoralist proportions, the dividing line is clear, with positions set in stone. 16 of the 19 candidates declared by the Constitutional Council have decided to skip the presidential meeting. To keep the channel of discussion open, the Head of State has decided to receive them this Monday morning. He will then hold talks with those who claim to have been cheated during the same morning. In a press release, the 16 reiterated their no: « On Monday, we will not be going to his dialogue. We will go to the Constitutional Council to lodge a petition to have his failure to act noted and to force him to act quickly to choose a date. Then we’ll go and talk to the people, who alone are sovereign. Everything else is a diversion.”

Given the antagonisms, pressures, ambitions and agitations, Macky Sall is treading delicately on a crest. Even before the start of this third dialogue of his second term, it will be complicated for him to obtain a consensus to set a new date for the ballot. Without a consensus and the support of the selected candidates, Macky Sall will once again have to feel the weight of his presidential responsibilities: deciding alone. Just like on 3 February! In this moment of solitude, the Head of State will be forced to regain altitude in order to make the right decision. Is it possible to set the date for the 1st round before 2 April while complying with the requirements of the Electoral Code (duration of the campaign, deadline for disputes, etc.)? And what happens if there is a second round after 2 April? Will he be chosen to ensure a few weeks of transition? Or will it be necessary to start from scratch by organising inclusive elections, as some robbed candidates are calling for? What will be the basis for this total overhaul of the electoral process?

At this stage of contradictions and divisions, no decision will satisfy everyone. With 35 days to go before the end of his mandate, President Sall, mired in an unprecedented situation, will have to dig deep like a precious metal hunter to find his way out of this labyrinth. Without a breadcrumb trail, he risks getting lost…

By Bocar SAKHO / bsakho@lequotidien.sn

  • Translation by Ndey T. SOSSEH