{"id":8293,"date":"2024-03-24T07:32:02","date_gmt":"2024-03-24T07:32:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/03\/24\/senegal-votes-in-an-election-that-almost-didnt-happen\/"},"modified":"2024-03-24T07:32:03","modified_gmt":"2024-03-24T07:32:03","slug":"senegal-votes-in-an-election-that-almost-didnt-happen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/03\/24\/senegal-votes-in-an-election-that-almost-didnt-happen\/","title":{"rendered":"Senegal Votes in an Election That Almost Didn\u2019t Happen"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1050\" height=\"550\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/03\/24\/multimedia\/24senegal-election-1-qgvb\/24senegal-election-1-qgvb-facebookJumbo.jpg?resize=1050,550&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Senegal Votes in an Election That Almost Didn\u2019t Happen\" title=\"Senegal Votes in an Election That Almost Didn\u2019t Happen\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">She had badgered her friends and family to persuade them to vote for a major change of government. And on Friday, Aminata Faye, 22, stood at the front of a stadium in Senegal, in the city of Mbour, waiting to hear the opposition politician who had inspired her \u2014 and his presidential candidate \u2014 in the last stop in a breakneck campaign.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThey\u2019re the only ones saying they\u2019re going to change the system,\u201d said Ms. Faye, a college student.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The West African nation of Senegal votes for a new president Sunday, in an election that many young people see as a chance to overhaul the political and economic order. And it has been a nail-biting run-up.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Last month, the incumbent president, Macky Sall, had called off the election with only three weeks to go. Then he agreed to hold it after all. And suddenly, last week, he released from jail the pugnacious opposition figure many see as his nemesis \u2014 Ousmane Sonko \u2014 along with the man Mr. Sonko is backing for president, Bassirou Diomaye Faye.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The whiplash-inducing twists and turns have left many Senegalese relieved that the election is happening at all, and that so far their widely lauded democracy appears to be still intact.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">While there are 19 candidates in all, many experts think the election will go to a runoff between Mr. Faye and the governing party candidate, Prime Minister Amadou Ba. It is prohibited to publish opinion polls in Senegal during election season, so there is nothing concrete to indicate who is favored win.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But ask most young people who they are supporting, and they will mention Mr. Sonko, whose name is not even on the ballot.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Thousands of young people flowed into the Mbour stadium to see him on Friday evening, the air filling with the honk of vuvuzelas. Binta Ciss\u00e9, a 30-year-old cleaner, looked around at the sea of T-shirts bearing the faces of Mr. Sonko and his candidate, Mr. Faye, a 43-year-old former tax inspector.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWe can see ourselves in them,\u201d Ms. Ciss\u00e9 said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The campaigning has happened at a breakneck pace, and during Ramadan, when most people in this predominantly Muslim country fast during the day. At night, political convoys rushed through the sandy alleyways of Dakar, the coastal capital, pumping out music and slogans and distributing fliers. Posters bearing politicians\u2019 beaming faces were hastily pasted up on roadside billboards.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The prime minister, Mr. Ba, hurriedly quit his position to go on the campaign trail. Mr. Sonko\u2019s prot\u00e9g\u00e9e, Mr. Faye, immediately hit the road after getting out of jail. He had been held on defamation charges and contempt of court, after he accused magistrates of persecuting Mr. Sonko.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">A country on the African continent\u2019s westernmost tip, Senegal has watched as some of its neighbors \u2014 like <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/08\/19\/world\/africa\/Whats-happening-Mali-coup.html\" title=\"\">Mali<\/a>, to the east, and <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/09\/10\/world\/africa\/guinea-coup-americans.html\" title=\"\">Guinea<\/a>, to the south \u2014 have been overtaken by coups in recent years.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But Senegal, observers say, is different.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">It has never had a coup d\u2019\u00e9tat. The country\u2019s powerful Sufi brotherhoods \u2014 Muslim communities guided by revered spiritual leaders \u2014 are seen as a <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wathi.org\/laboratoire\/tribune\/the-influence-of-sufi-brotherhoods-on-the-political-situation-in-senegal\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">stabilizing force<\/a>. Its military prides itself on staying out of politics.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Experts say that while <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/03\/21\/opinion\/senegal-sall-election.html\" title=\"\">Senegal has been badly damaged by Mr. Sall\u2019s authoritarian turn<\/a>, the country\u2019s reputation as a democratic outpost in a crisis-hit region has held.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But Senegal faces many of the same problems that have bedeviled its neighbors in West Africa \u2014 such as persistent poverty, an education deficit, and a lack of jobs, particularly for young people. These are the issues this election is likely to turn on \u2014 and a major reason Mr. Sonko has garnered such a strong youth following.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Over the last decade, 35-year-old Lamine Ndao has watched Senegal\u2019s economy grow under Mr. Sall\u2019s administration \u2014 large oil and gas fields have recently been discovered, and major infrastructure projects completed. But he has been left behind, he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">For 10 years, ever since he received a degree in tourism from a university in Dakar, he\u2019s been looking for a job. And most of his friends are in the same situation, he said \u2014 except the ones who joined the political party in power.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cIf you have political connections, you can work,\u201d he said as he watched gleaming SUV\u2019s drive by on one of Dakar\u2019s busiest roads a few days before the election. \u201cDo you find that fair? It\u2019s not.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Young people like Mr. Ndao had been pivotal in assuring Mr. Sall\u2019s ascent to the presidency.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Sall\u2019s predecessor, Abdoulaye Wade, began as a stalwart defender of democracy who promised change and ran for president four times before he was elected \u2014 twice. Then he ran for a third term in 2012, arguing that the constitutional two-term limit did not apply to him. But a lively youth movement persuaded hundreds of thousands of young Senegalese to head to the polls, and Mr. Wade lost to Mr. Sall.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Twelve years later, this February, many Senegalese said they were astounded to see Mr. Sall try to call off the election. They were also stunned to see the scenes from Parliament, where police threw out opposition lawmakers so that the bill confirming the cancellation could be pushed through.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Ndao, the unemployed college graduate, voted for Mr. Sall in 2012. In 2019, he said he felt so disillusioned that he didn\u2019t bother to vote. He said that while he wants to build his life in Senegal, he has been considering risking his life on a rickety boat to Europe, or following the thousands of West Africans now trying to migrate to the United States on <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/02\/29\/world\/americas\/migrants-africa-colombia-nicaragua-airport.html\" title=\"\">circuitous routes via Nicaragua<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">He hoped it wouldn\u2019t come to that, he said: He and all his friends are pinning their hopes on the man who has made a career out of excoriating elites, accusing prominent politicians of corruption and promising change: Mr. Sonko.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Nobody can vote for Mr. Sonko, who was barred from running after being convicted of defamation and of corrupting a minor, after a young massage parlor employee accused him of rape. So they will vote for Mr. Faye instead, Mr. Ndao said. <\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">As the light faded over Ouakam, a Dakar suburb, on Tuesday evening, young volunteers from Mr. Sonko\u2019s party handed out free dates and coffee to Muslims breaking the fast.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Bassirou Faye, a 24-year-old bus driver who coincidentally shares the name of the presidential candidate for Mr. Sonko\u2019s party, said that he wasn\u2019t interested in Mr. Sonko at all in the 2019 election. Mr. Sonko came in third, with 16 percent of the vote.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But this time, Mr. Faye said, he would travel the 100 miles to his home city of Bambey just to vote for Mr. Sonko\u2019s candidate.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cBecause of all the injustice he has faced, I started following and supporting him,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Faye and Mr. Sonko have promised major economic changes, like renegotiating oil and gas contracts, and reforming or leaving the regional currency, which is pegged to the euro.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Analysts say this may scare Senegal\u2019s foreign investors and stall economic progress. <\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Supporters of Mr. Ba said he was a safe pair of hands who would continue on the same steady trajectory as Mr. Sall, whom many perceive as having overseen orderly progress.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cHe\u2019s calm and serene,\u201d said Val\u00e9ry Kalidou Bonang, a 35-year-old entrepreneur from Kedougou, in Senegal\u2019s east. He said he wanted to see the continuation of Mr. Sall\u2019s program of building infrastructure and improving living conditions, known as Emerging Senegal. \u201cBut it\u2019s not a question of the person. It\u2019s a question of the project.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Ndao, the tourism graduate, said his father was voting for Mr. Ba, along with many older people who would get up early and go vote, he said, while many young people did not even have voters\u2019 cards.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cYoung people are the ones who need change,\u201d he said. \u201cThe old ones are on their way out.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>She had badgered her friends and family to persuade them to vote for a major change of government. And on Friday, Aminata Faye, 22, stood at the front of a stadium in Senegal, in the city of Mbour, waiting to hear the opposition politician who had inspired her \u2014 and his presidential candidate \u2014 in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8294,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/03\/24\/multimedia\/24senegal-election-1-qgvb\/24senegal-election-1-qgvb-facebookJumbo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[6124,50,2837,12589,3649],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8293"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8293"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8293\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8295,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8293\/revisions\/8295"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8294"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8293"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8293"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8293"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}