The plan to compensate victims of electoral violence that occurred between February 2021 and March 2024 continues to provoke strong reactions within civil society. In a press release, the “Nay Ler” platform expressed its opposition to this initiative carried by President Bassirou Diomaye Faye and his government, believing “that it risks rewarding political activists rather than relieving real victims.”
The government plans to release 5 billion CFA francs to compensate victims of electoral unrest that occurred in recent years. However, the “Nay Ler” platform, led by Babacar Mbaye Ngaraf, categorically rejects this measure. “We find it indecent that taxpayers’ money is used to satisfy activists engaged in a political party’s struggle to conquer power,” he declared in the document.
He thus criticizes compensation which could, according to him, “confuse victims and culprits and flout the principles of justice and fairness. » For “Nay Ler”, if the State truly wants to relieve the victims, it should extend this logic of compensation to all people affected by political violence since independence, under the presidencies of Senghor, Wade and Macky Sall.
Risks of political abuse denounced
The platform goes further by warning “of the risks of political abuse that such an initiative could generate. » She fears that this compensation opens the way to practices comparable to “political mercenarism, where activists could be tempted to resort to violence in the hope of being rewarded once their party comes to power. »
According to Babacar Mbaye Ngaraf, this project threatens the principle of equality of citizens and compromises democratic ethics: “We refuse to allow public money to be used to reward individuals involved in partisan struggles to the detriment of the real victims of this violence.”
In addition to his opposition to compensation for victims of electoral violence, Nay Ler took the opportunity to challenge the authorities on other sensitive issues. She is particularly concerned about the silence around the ONAS (Senegal National Sanitation Office) file and asks MPs to create a parliamentary commission of inquiry into the ASER (Senegalese Rural Electrification Agency) affair.
This commission, according to the platform, would shed light on the management of public funds and projects, and locate responsibilities in the implementation of rural electrification programs aimed at serving 1,600 localities.
Expectations towards the State
The platform finally calls on the State to adopt transparent and equitable measures for the management of public affairs and the protection of citizens’ rights. She urges the government to “prioritize compensation for legally recognized victims. Avoid any political exploitation of public funds. Respect the principles of equity and social justice.”
“Nay Ler” concludes its press release by reaffirming its vigilance in the face of government decisions and calling on the Senegalese to remain mobilized to defend the general interest.
