By Madi Jobarteh
By Madi Jobarteh
I recalled on Friday, January 27, 2012, I was standing with thousands of Senegalese citizens as well as fellow civil society activists from across West Africa at the l’Obelisque in the heart of Dakar, awaiting the announcement of the Constitutional Council on the candidature of Pres. Abdoulaye Bah. At the square were Senegalese opposition leaders, including Macky Sall, civil society leaders such as Alioune Tine of RADDHO, and activists such as Yenamarre, who were determined to protest if the Constitutional Council validated Pres. Abdoulaye Wade to stand for what would have been his bid for a third term contrary to the Constitution of Senegal.
At that time, Macky Sall, with his fellow opposition leaders and Senegalese people in general, held that Wade’s tenure as president should end in 2012, marking the end of his second term. But Wade claimed he was entitled to stand for elections again in 2012 because his tenure started afresh following a referendum in 2001; thus, his first term should not count. Many believed Pres. Wade was only seeking a third term so that if he won, he would make his son Karim Wade vice president, thereby paving the way for Karim to succeed him as president.
Under the banner of the M23 Movement initiated by an array of Senegalese political parties, CSOs, and activists in June 2011, a massive crowd converged on the l’Obelisque where Friday prayers were even conducted. At the time, the deputy mayor of Dakar had even mobilized mobile toilets, fearing that the protests could last for a long time. Then-Interior Minister Ousman Ngum also had to abandon his initial order to ban protests. The determination and commitment of the protesters, led by people like Macky Sall, was too strong to ignore!
Ultimately, the Constitutional Council endorsed Wade’s candidacy and rejected scores of other candidates, including Youssou Ndour. All sorts of allegations were levied against the judges of the Constitutional Council for certifying Wade to stand in the election. All appeals to the Council were rejected. In response to the protests that erupted, security forces deployed immense force and violence, leading to the deaths of scores of demonstrators. At the time, Macky Sall and fellow opposition leaders and civil society activists had accused Wade of committing a constitutional coup.
However, neither Macky nor any opposition leader triggered any process before the National Assembly to seek the postponement of the election. Instead, they prepared to contest against Wade and eventually secured victory when Macky Sall was elected in March 2012. Macky assumed the mantle of leadership with a tremendous promise and immense hope that, henceforth, democracy would be resurrected in Senegal after it was nearly killed by Wade, who was accused of treason, libel, and kleptocracy.
Fast forward to 2023, in July, when Macky finally declared that he would not stand for a third term. This came after his security forces massacred tens of Senegalese while hundreds more are languishing in jails across the country, protesting his ambiguous position on the matter. Wade first created much ambiguity about his third term bid since the 2001 referendum. But he never backed down from his position despite the enormous human cost. Ultimately, he stood in the 2012 election and lost to Macky Sall.
For Macky, he could not take the heat following massive and unending demonstrations against his third term bid, also leading to scores of deaths, arbitrary arrests, detention and torture of opponents, closure of media houses, and banning of political parties. While his announcement not to seek re-election became a great relief, it did not last long to see him betray his word as he attempted another unconstitutional route to maintain himself in power. This act came on February 3 when he announced the postponement of the presidential elections, which were only due in three weeks.
Today, thanks to first Abdoulaye Wade and now Macky Sall, the innocence, future, and vibrancy of Senegal and its democracy are dampened. Not only were both presidents and their regimes very corrupt, but more insidiously, they have cultivated an insidious culture of political prostitution and violence that lays bare the fragility of this once highly admired society as the beacon of democracy in a whole continent. Henceforth, the unity and stability of Senegal have been balanced, given the heightened antagonism and mistrust among its political leaders across the board.
History will remember Abdoulaye Wade as a president who forced himself onto institutions like the Constitutional Council to see him put on the ballot in 2012, illegally and illegitimately. Similarly, Macky Sall shall be remembered as the leader who manipulated judicial, legislative, and executive institutions to prolong his grip on power, illegally and illegitimately. Between them, they have perfected the weaponization of laws and institutions to entrench their hold on power. As done in 2012, it came back to repeat in 2024!
Someone has said no one is useless; at least they can be used as a bad example. Indeed, if current and future African presidents also manipulate institutions to entrench themselves, they use the Wade/Sall Template. Where Cote d’Ivoire’s Alassane Ouattara triggered a sham referendum in 2016 to change the constitution to give himself a third term and Gambia’s Yaya Jammeh also rejected election results in 2016, both Wade and Sall did neither yet succeeded in having their names on the ballot and even increase their tenure in the case of Macky Sall. This is the unfortunate legacy of these presidents, for which they will be remembered today and in the future.
“Africa needs a new type of citizen: A dedicated, modest, honest, informed man and woman who submerges himself in service to the nation and humanity. A man and woman who hate greed and detest vanity. A new type of man and woman whose humility is his and her strength and whose integrity is his and her greatness” – Nkrumah.
“To protect the Treasury from being defrauded, let all money be issued openly in front of the whole city (country), and let copies of the accounts be deposited in various wards (regions).” Aristotle
