In the upcoming parliamentary elections in Senegal scheduled for this weekend, former presidential rivals Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko and former President Macky Sall will face off once more - this time aiming to secure a majority in Parliament. This follows their competition in the March 2024 presidential election.
Senegal, with a population of about 18 million, has nearly 7.4 million registered voters.
President Bassirou Diomaye Faye dissolved Senegal's parliament in September and announced legislative elections for 17 November, saying the opposition-controlled parliament hindered his ability to execute his government’s plans at that time.
Senegal's president dissolves parliament, calls snap November election
Voters will have to select MPs for 165 parliamentary seats.
Forty lists of candidates are competing, but four major coalitions dominate, including the list from the current majority, and the one from the opposition, named Takku Wallu, supported by former president Macky Sall and his allies.
On election day, citizens vote directly for their chosen list and, upon counting the votes, the list that secures the most votes will garner all the seats in a district.
The ruling Pastef party is led by President Faye and Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko.
Confidence
Traditionally, Senegalese voters have always given elected presidents a comfortable majority in parliament, allowing them to carry out the programme for which they were elected.
Facing high unemployment, economic hardship, and recent flooding in parts of the country, the people of Senegal have voiced urgent calls for assistance.
"The difficult economic situation is necessarily a legacy of the previous administration," the Pastef party said in a statement.
Six months after their victory, Diomaye Faye and Sonko have promised a lot, but some say little has come to fruition.
The government attributes the problem to the lack of a parliamentary majority and systematic obstruction of government actions by the Benno Bokk Yakaar parliamentary group, which held the majority in the National Assembly until its dissolution.
Babacar Ndiaye, a political analyst and research director at the Wathi think tank, told RFI he thinks President Faye and his Pastef party have a strong chance of obtaining a majority.
He suggested it's very likely that they have continued their campaign in the same vein as the presidential campaign.
He also noted that Prime Minister Sonko was very present on the ground, all over the country to meet and talk to voters, oputlining his position on public policies, education, and unemployment.
But tensions have also emerged during the campaign, including targeting of Pastef supporters, as well as calls for revenge, as RFI's correspondent noted.
President to opposition leader
Former Senegal President Macky Sall said he would contest a seat in the polls.
Sall’s political party, the Alliance for the Republic (APR), has formed a coalition with other opposition groups, including the Senegalese Democratic Party (PDS), led by former President Abdoulaye Wade.
This coalition, called Takku Wallu Senegal (“Let’s Unite to Save Senegal” in the local Wolof language), was established in September, the coalition aims to gain a majority in the 165-member assembly.
Sall, 62, served as Senegal’s fourth president from 2012 until 2024.
He stated his intent to hold the government accountable, asserting that the economic progress achieved during his administration has been "undermined" under President Faye's leadership. In contrast, Faye's administration argues that it inherited a "poorly managed" government.
'Out of touch'
Sall mostly ran his campaign remotely from Morocco, however, where he now resides.
He addressed Senegalese citizens with a letter outlining his campaign program.
In the lengthy message, published in national media, Sall claimed to have left the country in good shape, with a "positive growth rate," and emphasized his strong presence on the international stage.
Ayib Daffé, a Pastef candidate for these legislative elections, told RFI that if he wants to speak to the Senegalese, he should come back to Senegal and campaign.
Amadou Ba, who is now head of the Pastef list in the city of Thiès, even accused the former president of being "out of touch."
