(SenePlus) – In an article published by Jeune Afrique (JA), behind the scenes of the inaugurations within the Takku Wallu Senegal coalition for the early legislative elections of November 17 are revealed, revealing tensions and discontent.
The coalition, led by former President Macky Sall, brings together two main blocs: the Bloc of Liberals and Democrats (BLD) and Wallu Senegal. However, the publication of the electoral lists by the General Directorate of Elections (DGE) highlighted internal frictions.
The nomination choices largely favored those close to Macky Sall and the heavyweights of the Alliance for the Republic (APR) and the Senegalese Democratic Party (PDS). Among the candidates at the top of the list, we find “Fabineta Diagne, former member of the High Council of Local Authorities (HCCT)” and “intimate of the former first lady, Marième Faye Sall”, as well as “Aïssata Tall Sall, the ‘former Minister of Justice’ and ‘Amadou Mame Diop, former President of the National Assembly’.
This selection generated frustrations within the coalition. According to the article, “if the Takku bloc parties had given Macky Sall carte blanche, they had expressed certain wishes, including that at least one of their number would be one of the first twenty candidates nominated. Requests which do not were not respected.”
The discontent has spread to important opposition figures. Idrissa Seck would have threatened, according to JA, to withdraw after discovering that Rewmi’s first candidate, the outgoing MP Mariétou Dieng, was only in 22nd position on the national list.
The article also highlights tensions within Macky Sall’s party itself, with “several figures from the former administration, such as Abdoulaye Diouf Sarr, the former mayor of Yoff, or the lawyer Oumar Youm” who “refused to ‘be invested on the departmental lists’ after having been excluded from the positions at the head of the list in their strongholds.
The inter-coalition strategy, aimed at maximizing the chances of imposing cohabitation on the new president Bassirou Diomaye Faye, has added a layer of complexity to the management of investitures. However, attempts at collaboration between Takku Wallu Senegal and Amadou Ba’s Jam Ak Jariñ coalition have only succeeded in a few constituencies.
