The call of the ballot box is imminent after two weeks of express campaigning, rich in lessons about all the political personnel who aspire to lead us. The electoral campaign has seen candidates who were expected to debate ideas and discuss their programmes indulge in a puerile game of unfounded accusations. In truth, the arguments heard from both sides over the past two weeks have not differed greatly from the prevailing discourse in this country since the day after the 2019 presidential election. In a country in permanent campaign mode, the time to appreciate a presidential election as an inevitable rendezvous with the People between supposedly exceptional men and women with the qualities to lead our nation has lost its superb.

Everything is done with a disconcerting lightness and the casualness shown by certain militants who forgive or excuse everything, as long as their champion has a chance of winning. This year we’ve had the awful experience of a Siamese twosome holding hands, like lost little children, to ask for the vote of the Senegalese people. In a position as serious as the presidency of the Republic, the choice is offered to one man as a substitute for another.

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From up there, Léopold Senghor, Lamine Guèye, Mamadou Dia and Cheikh Anta Diop must be tearing their hair out to see the open-air circus that this country, which has always shone for the quality of its minds, has become. Politics is a very serious business, but our players have succeeded in delegitimising this noble art of service to the city.

Going through some of the programmes, we can see the unpreparedness of a political staff who have made an art of smoke and mirrors. The preconceptions about existing public programmes, the partisan analysis of certain public policies and their impact, the quantitative void with proposals and projects with little or no figures, the plagiarism between candidates’ programmes or the simple plagiarism of whole sections of existing programmes can be extremely irritating.

Not to help matters, demagoguery and populism have taken over every output. Between far-fetched accusations, foolish arguments, excessive manipulation on social networks with a pile of fake audio recordings and hacking of newspaper front pages, the country’s fractures have become more pronounced. We can’t even begin to imagine what a mess it will be when the results are announced on the radio on the evening of 24 March 2024. In 2019, false results from the diaspora began to appear on social networks before polling stations closed throughout the country. Even before a tenth of the votes cast had been counted, a complacent press was having fun commenting on the trends. We should already be prepared for all forms of irresponsibility.

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In a ridiculous move that has shaken every corner of the country, candidates Cheikh Tidiane Dièye and Habib Sy announced their withdrawal from the race to the Constitutional Council two days before polling day. Their plan was well known from the outset: to be a candidate in order to get airtime and use it for the flagship « Diomaye President » candidate.  A scrupulously poor reflection on the resources of the Senegalese taxpayer involved in the participation of these puppet candidates in the presidential election. The lack of respect and consideration for the voters who may have sponsored them or taken an interest in their proposal is beyond comparison. The Constitutional Council will have the right word to refuse Habib Sy’s withdrawal.

Let’s hope that all the political factions will be responsible enough to accept the results that will emerge from the ballot boxes in a peaceful climate. Karim Wade, from his sweet Qatari exile, has once again tried to shake the Senegalese tree with all the energy he has left. For the time being, he is refusing to say whether he will support any candidate, although his supporters are giving him indications, while already predicting an electoral dispute and a possible hold-up. You couldn’t be more of a pyromaniac in a country where, since March 2021, everything has been conspiring to attempt the worst.

The ballot box is a moment of intimacy with the fate of the Republic. This moment could have been quite turbulent. It is up to each of us to decide on a clear horizon and get this country back to work. Have a good vote and may God never cease to watch over Senegal.

By Serigne Saliou DIAGNE / saliou.diagne@lequotidien.sn

  • Translation by Ndey T. SOSSEH