The political situation here in Senegal is going CRAZY.
Senegal has long been considered one of the most stable democracies in Africa, since it has not had a coup since it’s independence in 1960. The first two presidents stayed in power for 20 years each, but relinquished power peacefully after those 20 years. They were from the same party, meaning that one party was in power for the first 40 years after independence. In 2000, Abdoulaye Wade (Wade is pronounced like “Wad”) took power, initiating the first transfer of power between parties, which was peaceful. He served his first 7-year term until 2007, when he was re-elected. However, the consitution was changed to make presidential terms 5 years long instead. The constitution was also changed to impose a 2 term limit on presidents. President Wade is currently at the end of his second term, which should mean that he can’t run again. But is that stopping him?
Of course not! Despite that fact that he’s 86 years old (EIGHTY-SIX YEARS OLD!!!!), and the fact that the constitution forbids more than 2 terms in office, President Wade is running for president again. He claims that because the 2 term limit was imposed while he was in his second term, and is not a retroactive law, he can serve for one more term. Amazingly, a constitutional committee agreed with this, and Wade’s candidacy was officially sanctioned on January 27th, sparking widespread (and I think, rightful) outrage.
Members of opposition parties have been staging violent protests in Dakar and other cities around the country, protesting the decision of the constitutional committee, but they have steadfastly refused any appeals, leaving Wade a firm candidate for the presidency. One of the main opposition groups is known as M23 (Mouvement de 23 Juin), which came to be after the June 23, 2011 protests against Wade’s attempt to change the constitution to allow him to name his own successor. He wanted to name is son, Karim Wade, who is STUPID. He’s currently a “Special Minister” in his father’s government, and is in charge of the only power company in the country, which experiences daily power cuts. Can you say failure?
Four people have been killed so far (to my knowledge) in the protests against Wade (1 police officer in Dakar on Friday, 2 people in the northern town of Podor on Monday, and 1 University of Dakar student on Tuesday), and they show no sign of abating. But neither does Wade. He claims that he needs 3 more years in power to “finish his projects,” which many people think means setting his son up to take over for him. For info and videos of what’s going on here, I suggest checking out Al Jazeera English: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2012/02/20122115155570395.html
So, despite Senegal’s history of peaceful politics, it is clearly sliding backwards, and potentially heading for a large problem My prediction for the upcoming February 26th presidential elections:
No candidate will gain the 50% vote threshold to win outright, but Wade and one opposition candidate will have the most, and will therefore compete in a run-off election in March. Then it will be necessary for all of the opposition parties to work together to support the one candidate left. If they don’t manage to do this, I think Wade will win, and the violence will increase to a really dangerous level. Inshallah, this doesn’t happen, but we’re all holding our breath here in Senegal…
Don’t worry, I’m staying safe here, staying away from anything that could potentially turn violent, and continuing my sitting practice! The professors have no finished up their 8th week of strike, and our director here, Baydallaye, says the union is “slowing down,” whatever that means…it can’t be good.