Dakar, 23 Sept (APS) – Electoral alliances are emerging and others are dissolving in anticipation of the early legislative elections on 17 November, also depending on the interests of the moment.
The committee responsible for receiving candidacy declaration files is preparing, at the same time, to begin its work on Tuesday, September 24, which will trigger the process intended to lead to the choice of the deputies of the 15e legislature.
The countdown to the dissolution of the National Assembly seems to have started since Bassirou Diomaye Faye’s victory in the presidential election of March 24. By virtue of his constitutional prerogatives, on September 12, the Head of State dissolved the parliamentary institution and called voters to early legislative elections on November 17.
The PDS-APR-Rewmi alliance heralds the disappearance of BBY
The alliances that are being formed, and those that are also being dispersed, make one believe that the political parties and coalitions of political parties had prepared for early legislative elections. Electoral alliances that could have been expected have emerged. Others, more improbable, have also been formed. Ruptures have taken place at the same time.
The Senegalese Democratic Party (PDS) and the Alliance for the Republic (APR), the political parties of former presidents Abdoulaye Wade and Macky Sall, have declared that they have formed an alliance with Rewmi, the party of former Prime Minister Idrissa Seck, to seek the votes of Senegalese people and elect deputies.
In a press release published on Sunday, September 22, they expressed their “desire to establish a large political coalition, open to their respective allies and to any political party that would like to join it, in order to largely win the upcoming legislative elections.” This alliance paves the way for the reunion of the main Senegalese political parties claiming to be liberal. They had distanced themselves from each other when it came to voting on a bill in favor of the dissolution of the High Council of Territorial Communities (HCCT) and the Economic, Social and Environmental Council.
At the height of the pre-election crisis caused by the postponement of the presidential election of February 25, the PDS and the APR, the main political party of Benno Bokk Yaakaar (BBY), had reached an agreement, against many other political parties.
A “lack of consideration” from PASTEF towards its allies
The announcement of the PDS-APR-Rewmi alliance heralds the disappearance of BBY, which had a narrow majority in the dissolved legislature.
The leader of this coalition, Macky Sall, was already sketching out the contours of a new alliance by theorizing a political framework ”more appropriate” than Benno Bokk Yaakaar. ”We will have to, by learning from the verdict of the ballot boxes, invent a more appropriate framework, adapted and adjusted to our current imperatives. We must think and accept that we must go beyond BBY and project ourselves into the new time of political action”, wrote the former President of the Republic in a letter intended for his political allies.
Other political parties that are members of BBY have begun to move within other frameworks and alliances. This is the case of the Socialist Party (PS), whose secretary general, Aminata Mbengue Ndiaye, joined the New Responsibility, led by former Prime Minister Amadou Ba, Benno Bokk Yaakaar’s candidate in the last presidential election. “We have agreed, with Prime Minister Amadou Ba, on the principle of going together to the legislative elections of November 17,” declared the president of the HCCT.
After you [avoir] having placed our trust in December 2023 by investing you as a PS candidate, we are convinced that together we will contribute to the preservation of our national unity and our social cohesion, which have been severely tested since March 2024,” said the PS general secretary, speaking of Amadou Ba.
Khalifa Sall, a PS dissident and leader of the Taxawu Senegaal coalition, went to the Socialist Party headquarters. To meet with Aminata Mbengue Ndiaye. But he has not yet joined the coalition bringing together Ms. Ndiaye and Amadou Ba. Taxawu Senegaal denied information that he had joined this coalition.
The trip of its leader to the PS headquarters ”is part of the framework […] of a series of meetings with different political parties and coalitions”, Khalifa Sall and his supporters were keen to point out.
The African Patriots of Senegal for Work, Ethics and Fraternity (PASTEF) want to go to the legislative elections under their own banner. The leader of this political party, Ousmane Sonko, made this known to his allies on Saturday, September 21, in Dakar. Leaders of parties and movements allied to the coalition ”Diomaye President” – led by PASTEF – disapprove of this approach by the ruling party and its leader.
”And Goryi”-Union of Dignified Men, of lawyer Moussa Diop, member of ”Diomaye President”, announced his participation in the legislative elections, with his own list. Me Diop, who supported the candidacy of Bassirou Diomaye Faye in the presidential election, denounced the ”lack of consideration” of PASTEF towards its allies.
Other political leaders allied to ”Diomaye President”, including Aïda Mbodj, have expressed their willingness to align themselves with the ruling party. If these allies manage to invest activists from their respective political parties, it will be under the banner of PASTEF, as demanded by Ousmane Sonko.
This approach “is in line with” the “unwavering” commitment of the “Diomaye President” coalition, for “the success of the Project [de transformation systémique du Sénégal] aiming to build a [pays] sovereign, just and prosperous,” Ms. Mbodj explained in a statement.
The maneuvers, alliances and splits are likely to continue as we approach the deadline for submitting candidate lists for the legislative elections.
AKS/ESF/ADL
