At the national reconciliation dialogue held yesterday at the Cicad in Diamniadio, President Macky Sall announced that he would be submitting a bill to the National Assembly on Wednesday to grant amnesty for acts arising from political demonstrations between 2021 and 2024. President Sall also reiterated his wish to see the presidential election held before the start of the rainy season.

Amnesty has been in the air in recent weeks. President Macky Sall confirmed this on Monday by announcing a bill to this effect at tomorrow’s meeting of the Council of Ministers. In the name of stability and national unity, President Macky Sall intends to wipe the slate clean on the events of March 2021 and June 2023, which gave rise to serious unrest with the arrest of Ousmane Sonko in the « Sweet Beauty » affair and his conviction for youth corruption respectively. These tragic events resulted in 13 deaths, according to the authorities for 2021, and 29 according to an Amnesty International count for June 2023.

Presidential Election : Opening of the National Dialogue

More recently, 4 people were killed during demonstrations against the postponement of the 25 February presidential election. The facts arising from all these demonstrations will be amnestied. The Head of State made this clear in his introductory speech to the two-day national reconciliation dialogue. « Our country is at an important crossroads. My wish is that we can move towards a peaceful, inclusive and transparent election. To this end, and in a spirit of national reconciliation, I will submit to the National Assembly a bill for a general amnesty for acts relating to political demonstrations that took place between 2021 and 2024 », assured President Sall.

« Over and above the legitimate concern for justice and accountability, I hope that amnesty and forgiveness, with their salutary virtues for the nation, will help us to overcome these difficult times, so that our beloved country can reconcile with itself, restoring all its vital forces around the essentials », he continued. According to the President of the Republic, the most important thing is to safeguard our national unity, regardless of political persuasion, and to preserve the rule of law and the Republic. « This will make it possible to pacify the political arena, to further strengthen our national cohesion and to maintain the democratic influence of our country », he noted to motivate his decision in accordance with his message of 3 February.

Read the column – Forgive Ousmane Sonko? Yes, but Senegal Deserves a Repented!

That day, President Sall brought the process to a halt by repealing the decree calling the electoral body for 25 February. This decision was finally overturned by the Constitutional Council on 15 February, while calling on the competent authorities to organise the ballot « as soon as possible ». « Without going back over the ups and downs of the postponement of the presidential election, I would like to reiterate that in taking note of the Constitutional Council’s decision, which is in line with the normal mechanisms of democracy and the rule of law, I have indicated my willingness to enforce the said decision so that the poll can be held as soon as possible », he recalled. While candidates and civil society organisations are calling for the election to be held before 2 April, the end of the current term of office, their request is not likely to be met, judging by the President’s speech. For him, the election will have to be held with guarantees of transparency, a credibility that the Head of State does not yet seem to have achieved.

« The government is working to hold the election before the rainy season »

« In convening this dialogue, which is not the first of its kind, I have only one objective: to find a consensus on the date of the next presidential election so that the ballot can be held in the best possible conditions of organisation and transparency to guarantee its credibility », he noted.

« My dearest wish and desire is to hold the presidential election as soon as possible, and before the coming rainy season. The government is already working to ensure perfect logistical organisation », insisted Macky Sall. In the run-up to the dialogue, President Sall met with two of the candidates in the running, Mohammed Boun Dionne and Amadou Ba, as well as with candidates who had failed to make the final cut. The 17 other candidates declined the President’s invitation. For Macky Sall, it is around the table that the country will manage to extricate itself from this moment of turbulence that it is experiencing and which happens in all countries.

« All democracies, even those that are supposed to be the oldest, have their moments of fragility, sometimes punctuated by violence (…) Dialogue and consultation make it possible to heal these fragilities and move forward in the quest for the ideal of democracy », he said, and assured that it is through dialogue that our democracy will be strengthened. « Rero amoul niak wakhtan a am« , he said, adding: « So let’s talk. Let us remain calm, responsible, pragmatic and effective. Each of us must transcend ourselves and rise to the level of the Senegal we want: a Senegal of peace and stability », urged Macky Sall. The results of the dialogue are expected today, the closing day.

By Alioune Badara NDIAYE / abndiaye@lequotidien.sn

  • Translation by Ndey T. SOSSEH