Ismaila Madior Fall, former Minister of Justice of Senegal, expressed thoughts on the political and judicial management of the country, particularly in relation to the case of Ousmane Sonko, prevented from running in the presidential election after his judicial disqualification. His observations, published in an open letter, address the political tensions and reforms needed to strengthen democratic stability in Senegal.
Proposal to suspend proceedings for candidates
Returning to the events leading to the invalidation of Ousmane Sonko’s candidacy, Ismaila Madior Fall believes that constitutional reform is essential. He pleads for a suspension of judicial decisions targeting a declared candidate until the end of the presidential election, like recent case law from the Supreme Court of the United States. The objective would be to preserve the integrity and transparency of the democratic process.
A finding of institutional inconsistency
Ismaila Madior Fall denounces what he considers to be a democratic anomaly: “the one who is favored by voters is not at the head of the supreme judiciary”. For him, the bi-representative system of Senegal, where the presidential and legislative elections are of equal importance, must guarantee better consistency between the ballots and the functioning of the institutions. He therefore proposes a rearrangement of the electoral calendar to align the duration of presidential and parliamentary mandates, as was done between 1963 and 1988.
A reform for the future of democracy
Faced with recent political imbalances, Ismaila Madior Fall calls for structural reforms to harmonize the functioning of the presidential regime. This includes better articulation of powers and mechanisms guaranteeing stability between institutions. According to him, it is necessary to learn lessons from national and international history to prevent political crises.
In his message, the former minister concludes by congratulating the Senegalese people for their democratic commitment, while calling for collective reflection on the institutional future of the country.
Senegal
