The race for the presidency of the African Development Bank (BAD) takes an unfavorable turn for Senegal. Benin has decided to provide official support to Sidi Ould Tah, candidate for Mauritania, to the detriment of Amadou Hott, former vice-president of the institution and Senegalese pretender.
The announcement was made by Abdoulaye Bio Tchané, Minister of State Beninese in charge of development, after a visit to Nouakchott where he met Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani. Benin does not intend to limit itself to facade support: it intends to play an active role in the regional mobilization around the Mauritanian candidacy, welcoming “the skill and vision” of Sidi Ould Tah for the BAD.
This rallying strengthens an already well structured campaign on the Mauritanian side, led by a strategic committee led by Prime Minister Mokhtar Ould Djay and composed of several senior officials, informs the website of the Le Soleil visited by Senego. It is added to that of Côte d’Ivoire, another actor influential in the region.
In comparison, Amadou Hott’s campaign seems to mark the step. Launched with great fanfare in Dakar in the presence of several members of the government, it continues today more discreetly, without clearly displayed regional dynamics.
The election to designate the successor of the Nigerian Akinwumi Adesina at the head of the BAD will be held on May 29 in Abidjan. Five candidates are in the running: Amadou Hott (Senegal), Sidi Ould Tah (Mauritania), Maimbo Samuel Munzele (Zambia), Tolli Abbas Mahamat (Chad) and Bajabulile Tshabalala (South Africa), the only woman in competition.
