Senegalese democracy fights back

A few months ago we looked at Senegal, usually regarded as one of West Africa’s most successful democracies, where incumbent president Micky Sall had just announced he would not be a candidate for re-election. Most observers thought he didn’t have a choice about that, having already served two terms, but he avoided conceding that point. Still, in the circumstances it seemed like a win for democracy.

But that didn’t stop the election, scheduled for next Sunday, from being controversial. Twenty candidates are running for president, so there’s no lack of competition, but two opposition candidates were disqualified on dubious grounds, and the National Assembly voted to set up an enquiry into the conduct of the election. There were concerns that the fix was in for the government’s preferred candidate, prime minister Amadou Ba, and some opposition MPs called for voting to be postponed.

On 3 February Sall acted and issued a decree cancelling the poll. With the support of some of the opposition, he got the National Assembly to agree to emergency legislation postponing the election until 15 December. But the majority of opposition candidates opposed the move, and widespread protests suggested that Sall had misread the situation. International observers warned that Senegal’s democratic credentials were under threat.

Last week the court stepped in: the Constitutional Council ruled that both the legislation and the presidential decree were unconstitutional, and that Sall must leave office by 2 April when his term expires. It acknowledged that the 25 February date was no longer practical, but ordered that the election should be held as soon as possible. Sall has promised to comply with the ruling.

The opposition described the court’s decision as “a great day for democracy,” and it is hard to disagree. Senegal’s people and institutions have held up under pressure – albeit from a president who may perhaps have been ham-fisted rather than actually malevolent. With any luck the country will be set for another peaceful transfer of power, in a region where that has become less common than it should be.

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Also a milestone to note: this is our 1,800th post!