The fact that Senegal’s election took place on 24 March was in itself a triumph for civil society. That an opposition candidate, campaigning on an anti-establishment and anti-corruption agenda, emerged from jail to become the continent’s youngest leader offers fresh hope for democracy.

It wasn’t foretold. On 3 February, just as the campaign for the election scheduled for 25 February was about to start, President Macky Sall announced he’d postponed the vote, alleging corruption on the part of the constitutional judges tasked with drawing up the slate of candidates.

Two days later, in a chaotic session during which security forces forced out opposition lawmakers who tried to block proceedings, parliament voted to postpone the presidential election until 15 December. Civil society saw this as a constitutional coup, since only Senegal’s Constitutional Council has the authority to postpone an election. The postponement meant an unconstitutional extension of the president’s second and final five-year term.

In contrast with several other West African countries, since gaining independence in 1960 Senegal never had a coup. It doesn’t face the kind of security threats that have prompted others in the region to accept military rule, and its civilian rulers have encountered effective checks in an active civil society and independent judicial institutions that have resisted presidential attempts to cling to power.

In the face of yet another such attempt, civil society reacted quickly and the Constitutional Council responded accordingly, declaring the postponement unconstitutional. As a result, the vote was held on 24 March, and on a substantial 66 per cent turnout, Bassirou Diomaye Faye of the opposition Senegalese Patriots (PASTEF) was elected with 54.2 per cent of the vote against 35.8 per cent for Amadou Ba of the ruling Alliance for the Republic (APR).

Faye was inaugurated right on time on 2 April, the day Sall’s term ended. An oasis in a region in turmoil, Senegal kept its democratic reputation intact after all.

Civic space under attack

Ahead of February, civic space deteriorated steadily as political conflict escalated. People had protested for years amid speculation that Sall would try to somehow evade the very clear constitutional text that established a two-term limit. Doubts remained even after Sall finally announced he wasn’t running again, as he continued to maintain that he could if he wanted to.

He eventually dropped his candidacy, but increasingly focused on trying to ensure his APR would stay in power. As he’d done ahead of the 2019 election that secured him a second term, he tried to push out of the way anyone who might pose a serious challenge to continuity.

The biggest threat was Ousmane Sonko. A former tax inspector turned corruption whistleblower, Sonko had become very popular among young people who saw the political elite as corrupt, self-serving and aloof. The government instrumentalised the criminal justice system to try to stop him. Sonko was first arrested in March 2021 and convicted soon after. In local elections held in January 2022, however, he was elected mayor of Ziguinchor city, and in parliamentary elections held in August the APR lost its majority as Sonko’s party, PASTEF, finished second.

As the presidential election approached, in May 2023 Sonko was handed a six-month suspended sentence for insulting and defaming a ruling party politician. In June he was sentenced to two years in jail for ‘corrupting youth’. This made him ineligible to stand in the next election, so he was struck off the electoral roll. While serving his sentence at home in July, he was arrested again on protest-related charges, including insurrection. A few days later, the government dissolved PASTEF. It was the first such ban in Senegal’s post-independence history.

Every time Sonko was arrested or convicted, people mobilised in his defence. Protests included instances of violence such as stone throwing, tyre burning and looting. Public buildings were vandalised and buses set on fire. The state responded with lethal force, deploying the army in the capital, Dakar, and using live ammunition against protesters. Overall, dozens of people were killed, and hundreds injured and detained. Opposition politicians and social movement leaders were among those arrested. Journalists covering protests were harassed and arrested. The authorities banned further protests called by the opposition.

The government suspended TV outlets in retaliation for their protest coverage, limited internet access at key times to prevent protests and restricted use of some social media platforms – particularly TikTok, younger people’s favourite. Police arrested journalists for reporting on the restrictions placed on Sonko and PASTEF, including Khalil Kamara of the independent online media outlet Senego and Pape Ale Niang of the news site Dakar Matin. For publishing an opinion piece criticising Sall and Sonko’s indictment, Kamara was charged with disseminating false news, defamation and offending the head of state.

On 27 October, hundreds of people gathered in Dakar to demand the liberation of the roughly one thousand prisoners of conscience languishing in long-term preventive detention. The protest was organised by Forces Vives de Sénégal F24, a platform of political and human rights organisations. It was the first time in several months a protest including opposition members was allowed to proceed.

In November, leaders of the dissolved PASTEF formed a coalition with other parties and picked Faye as candidate to replace Sonko. Faye was also in detention, where the authorities sought to keep him for as long as possible to reduce his chances – but he remained eligible as long as he wasn’t convicted.

The crackdown on civic freedoms that continued almost until election day led the CIVICUS Monitor to downgrade Senegal’s civic space rating to repressed in December 2023. Senegal was also added to the CIVICUS Monitor Watchlist, which includes countries experiencing particularly sharp declines in civic freedoms.

Civil society’s reaction

When Sall postponed the election, civil society reacted instantly by forming a platform, ‘Aar Sunu Election’ (‘Let’s protect our election’), that brought together over a hundred organisations.

On 4 February, 19 opposition candidates held a press conference alongside civil society leaders to announce their decision to campaign together. That same day, people took to the streets. The government again cut off mobile data and temporarily suspended a TV station’s licence. Security forces harassed, threatened and physically attacked journalists to prevent them covering demonstrations. Clashes were reported in Dakar, where security forces used teargas to disperse protests and chased fleeing protesters, while protesters put up barricades and threw stones at security forces. Presidential candidate Anta Babacar Ngom and former Prime Minister Aminata Touré were among the arrested protesters.

A demonstration announced for 5 February, the day of the parliamentary vote, was unable to proceed because the National Assembly was cordoned off and unreachable. Protests intensified after the vote, and on 9 and 10 February security forces used live ammunition against protesters, killing at least three and injuring dozens in Dakar, Saint-Louis and Ziguinchor. They arrested hundreds. Security forces also used violence against protests in Mbacké, Mbour, Tivaoune and Touba.

Dakar’s local authorities banned a silent march announced by Aar Sunu Election for 13 February on grounds of ‘risks to seriously disrupt traffic’. Further attempts to mobilise in the following days were repressed.

But the pressure paid off, and on 15 February the Constitutional Council voided the election postponement and ordered the government to hold voting before the end of the presidential term. In a rare occurrence, the prefect of Dakar authorised a silent march organised by Aar Sunu Election on 17 February, and thousands marched without incident to demand respect for the electoral calendar.

Persistence paid. To ease the tension, on 6 March parliament passed an amnesty law, and on 14 March the government released Faye and Sonko from jail. People took to the streets in celebration, and 10 days later they lined up for hours in their thousands to have their say. They opted for change so clearly that no runoff was needed.

Challenges ahead

The new president – at just 44, the youngest in Senegal’s history – made a meteoric journey from prison to power. Until recently a low-profile activist in the anti-corruption opposition, he spoke to the aspirations of Senegal’s young people and made clear that a vote for him was a vote for Sonko. As soon as he was inaugurated, he appointed Sonko as prime minister.

In a context of escalating living costs, rising unemployment and widespread disillusionment, one of Faye’s major promises was creating jobs. Seventy-five per cent of Senegal’s 18 million people are under 35 and the official unemployment rate is 20 per cent, so there’s clearly a great need. Tackling this problem would be a big enough promise, but Faye has pledged a lot more – to reduce entrenched economic disparities, bolster agriculture to achieve food self-sufficiency, restore national sovereignty over critical industries such as oil, gas and fishing, manage natural resources effectively, combat deep-rooted corruption, increase government transparency, strengthen institutions and free Senegal from neo-colonial influences, including the CFA franc, the common regional currency controlled by the French government.

It’ll be far from easy to translate promises into tangible outcomes, and Faye will have to navigate the fine line between managing expectations and delivering on them. But for now, Senegal has passed a crucial test of democracy, offering a vital example in a region where it’s often lacking.

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