Momar Thiam is a communications expert. Former Consul General of Senegal in Bordeaux and communications advisor to the President of the Republic, Mr. Abdoulaye Wade. The day after the legislative elections of November 17, 2024, our political communication expert describes Ousmane Sonko as a conqueror for having won all his electoral, legal and political battles. Interview !
The Witness: What reading do you make of this resounding victory of Pastef during the legislative elections of November 17?
Momar Thiam: Allow me first to salute the work carried out by the services of the Ministry of the Interior for the organization of this election which took place in peace and calm. It is also an opportunity to salute the maturity of the Senegalese people who have demonstrated once again to the world that our democratic achievements are in no way usurped or fragmented. Which still leaves us a place of choice as a mirror of democracy in Africa and the rest of the world. That said, this large victory is also and exclusively the victorious work of an extraordinary personality in the Senegalese political scene and beyond, I dare say.
Why such an assertion?
To answer your question, it seems useful to me to operate chronologically. First Mr. Ousmane Sonko and all those around him set up Pastef in 2014 and then organized and animated it with what I call fundamentals that I could summarize around the following slogan: “Neither compromise and neither compromise” with past governances and those who embodied it. This gave them a solid and very productive position on the political level. The president of Pastef Ousmane Sonko, through targeted and well-oiled communication with the support of social networks committed to his cause, has clearly won the hearts of a good part of the youth who as a result, got rid of the costumes of receptacles of public life to henceforth be real players in the political game. So whether we like it or not, the personality that Ousmane Sonko exudes leaves no one indifferent, even his own slayers who train themselves to want to give him a reply without knowing that they are pulling him further towards the top in spite of themselves. Then, Pastef’s participation in the various electoral contests (Legislative 2017 and Presidential 2019) allowed him to definitively establish him in the Senegalese political space and beyond in the hearts of Senegalese here and elsewhere. In short, Ousmane Sonko is a great conqueror who won all the battles fought or imposed, namely political, electoral and legal battles. The organizational genius that Pastef has demonstrated (dedicated bracelet, appeal for funds, exceptional mobilization of the diaspora beyond measure, put in place by Magui Pastef) has induced a transformation of this political formation which goes beyond the framework of a party. I thus dare to say that Pastef has become a collective belief well established in the minds of a good part of the Senegalese thanks to the political genius, the endurance and the sense of duty and sacrifice of its mentor, Ousmane Sonko. So whether you like it or not, it doesn’t leave you indifferent. Just to tell you that when Sonko sneezes, the Senegalese catch a cold, and it’s the “Pastefian” flu for everyone!
But Doctor, does this mean that Pastef is comparable to a religion?
I wouldn’t say that, because globally a religion can be defined as a set of practices specific to a belief or a social group. If you like, these practices or beliefs define man’s relationship with the sacred, the acceptance of a superior being. We’re not there! I would rather say that Pastef is a state of mind, a way of being and living in a Senegalese society where the sense of duty, ethics and righteousness (hence Juup, Juubal, Jumbanti) constitute the essential pillars for harmonious living together. And this is where this formation stands out radically from all the political parties and movements known so far in Senegal. And this is what makes it strong and boosts its attractiveness. So it is clear that all these considerations also bear the imprint of his mentor who is Ousmane Sonko.
Is this all that explains, among other things, this resounding victory of Pastef in the legislative elections?
Certainly, but it is clear that this victorious dynamic is also the result of a gradual approach which began its climb to the top. First, let’s not forget that with the installation of Yewwi Askanwi, of which Pastef was the main driving force, Ousmane Sonko contributed largely to installing Barthélémy Diaz at the head of Dakar town hall. Then, the choice made with explanatory force and a very relevant communication strategy (and confusing for the power of the time) on Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar Faye, on the eve of the 2024 presidential election, opened the doors of the Palace to the one who is today the youngest president of the Republic of Senegal in office. Finally, with strength and conviction, coupled with an explanatory pedagogy of the Social Project proposed to the Senegalese, Mr. Ousmane Sonko as head of the Pastef list, led an extraordinary electoral campaign. Obviously out of the ordinary by the mobilization, the targeted speeches, the controlled tempo and assured relational proximity etc… In short, have the mayor of Dakar elected, make a winning choice in the first round of the 2024 presidential election, win the legislative elections brilliantly and hands down , all this makes me say that it would not be excessive to affirm that Mr. Ousmane Sonko has entered history brilliantly. It will mark and continue to mark the political history of Senegal. Moreover, the Sonko phenomenon takes me back to the fight where Mohamed Ndao Tyson marked his era. What he was in wrestling, Sadio Mané is in football. Without forgetting Youssou Ndour in music. Just a few examples to tell you that Ousmane Sonko is a rare phenomenon who appears practically only once per “century” within the Senegalese political class.
If Sonko is a phenomenon, is Diomaye a great phoenix taking flight?
Exactly ! Today, this is a dynamic to which we must add an equally determining element and not the least, which is the representativeness of the President of the Republic Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar Faye. Since his installation, the latter has given off an image of a personality which improves further through contact with public office and responsibilities. His first face to face with the press revealed part of the character’s dimension of Olympic calm, a sense of repartee in the face of the issues of the moment and above all a mastery of his subject. And now the Senegalese discover a high personality named Bassirou Diomaye Faye well in the costumes of President of the Republic and a man far from the delights of power. Ousmane Sonko and Bassirou Diomaye Faye thus remain “two cherries on the Pastef cake” offered to Senegalese voters who, to better appreciate, gave them an overwhelming majority to roll out their Social Project.
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