An Overview of Senegal’s 2024 Presidential Election

Written by James Croll; Edited by Andrew Ma

Published on November 1st, 2024

Introduction

Senegal has served as a shining example of a successful West African democracy, as the country is the only West African nation never to suffer a coup d'etat since gaining independence in 1960 and one of the few to have peaceful transitions of power since the early 1990s. However, during this past election cycle, that tradition came dangerously close to being broken by outgoing incumbent President Macky Sall of the Alliance for the Republic Party (APR). The election, originally scheduled for the 25th of February 2024, was indefinitely postponed by presidential decree on February 3rd. This sparked public outrage, with protestors and prominent political opposition figures accusing Sall of acting in a dictatorial and self-interested way to extend his term of office and accusing him of initiating a soft coup against Senegal and its democratic norms. Sall relented after a month of violent protests, political chaos, and the resignation of several prominent leadership figures in his party, setting the new date of the first round of the election on March 24th in a decree published on the 6th of March. These events came only a month after the Senegalese Constitution Council barred over 25 major opposition candidates from running for President including Karim Wade, former minister and son of former President Abdoulaye Wade (who served from 2000 to 2012, when he lost reelection to now-President Sall) and Ousmane Sonko, leader of the opposition and one of the most important political figures in the nation.

Originally a tax collector, Sonko gained notoriety in Senegal by acting as a whistle-blower against offshore tax havens. In 2018, Sonko published Solutions, a political manifesto in which he called for transformative reform of the Senegalese political and civil societies such as replacing the country’s French-controlled currency, the CFA Franc, with a new domestic currency. He contested the 2019 Presidential election, placing third with 16% compared to Sall’s dominant 58% re-election victory. In 2021, Sonko founded the current major opposition coalition known as Yewwi Askan Wi (YAW or Free the People in English), which experienced sizable electoral victory in the 2022 local elections and was one seat away from a majority within the National Assembly.

However, Sonko was detained in early 2021 due to sexual assault allegations, leading to mass protests across the nation claiming that the charges were false and politically motivated. In 2023, Sonko was again accused of “disturbing the public order” and “corrupting the youth,” with a court sentencing him in absentia to two years of imprisonment. This verdict sparked mass protests and chaos due to the implication that he would be barred from contesting the upcoming election. Sonko appealed to the Senegalese Supreme Court, but they ultimately ruled that he would not be permitted to contest the election. As a result, Sonko formally recognized Bassirou Diomaye Faye, PASTEF’s secretary-general who had been arrested for criticizing the conduct of Sonko’s defamation trial, as the nominee for the coalition in the upcoming elections in a video uploaded from prison in January 2024.

Campaign

Sonko and Faye remained in prison until March 14th, when after immense public pressure they were both granted their freedom and permitted to begin campaigning. Faye modeled his campaign after Sonko’s hugely popular leftist platform, promising to create jobs and take a strong stance against corruption. His campaign used the slogan “Diomaye mooy Ousmane,” meaning “Diomaye is Ousmane” in Wolof, to link himself to Sonko’s popular appeal to Senegalese youth. Faye is a self-described advocate of left-wing pan-Africanism and has spoken out about the “French economic stranglehold” on Senegal, going as far as to propose that Senegal replace the CFA franc common in francophone West Africa with a new Senegalese currency to further reinforce the nation’s financial autonomy and sovereignty. Sall’s chosen successor, incumbent Prime Minister Amadou Ba, on the other hand, sought to represent continuity and stability, labeling Sonko and Faye as radical “bandits” without Senegal’s best interests in mind. Several major political figures, including former president Abdoulaye Wade (whose son Karim was disqualified alongside Sonko in 2023) and former prime minister Aminata Toure, endorsed Faye over Ba in the election.

Surprisingly, Faye won an absolute majority of 54.28% in the first round over Ba’s 35.79%, resulting in the first opposition victory in the first round of voting since the country gained independence in 1960 from France. Additionally, international observers determined that the election “took place in a calm environment and was well-organized” without any major irregularities or electoral interference. This helped maintain Senegal’s status as a full and functional democracy, relevant as French-speaking West Africa increasingly becomes privy to violent government takeovers and coups such as those in Mali and Burkina Faso. Faye assumed office in April 2024, making him the youngest currently serving African head of state. One of his first actions as President of Senegal was to appoint Ousmane Sonko as prime minister, reaffirming the pair’s collaborative dynamic in governance.

President Bassirou Diomaye Faye at the appointment of Ousmane Sonko as prime minister.
*Credit: Reuters*

Faye and Sonko’s Administration So Far

President Faye announcing the parliamentary elections on September 13th, 2024.
*Credit: Reuters*

In his first months, Faye implemented reforms including price reductions for basic commodities like bread and sugar, initiating audits in the oil/gas and mining sectors, and organizing forums to decide on sweeping changes to the Senegalese justice system. Faye and Sonko have taken a markedly different stance towards their former colonial power France than their predecessors, questioning the presence of French troops within Senegal’s borders and have called for a “reset of relations between Africa and Europe.” Pledging to reduce tension between the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Alliance of Sahel States (a confederation between Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso), Faye appointed a facilitator between the two groups and has visited several West African nations to meet with heads of state and discuss bilateral issues. Additionally, Senegal has commenced production at its first offshore oil project (a major topic of debate throughout the presidential campaign), with Faye and Sonko promising that the nation will receive its fair share of profits through reexamination of its contracts with foreign oil and gas multinational corporations.

However, Faye’s administration has had some controversial policies, such as the recent eviction of street vendors from public roads and the freezing of financial accounts for several media companies due to non-payment of tax. Concerns that the Senegalese government would conflict with the media first emerged in June, when Prime Minister Sonko expressed that the government would “no longer tolerate ‘falsehood’ by journalists who he said were enjoying ‘too much impunity.’” On August 13th, most national newspapers and TV stations engaged in a blackout of coverage, simply the words “journée sans presse” (French for “day without press”). While this debate remains ongoing, it is clear that Faye and Sonko intend to lead Senegal in a different direction than it had been going under President Macky Sall. On September 13th, President Faye officially dissolved the opposition-led parliament, announcing new legislative elections on November 17th. Former President Sall’s Benno Bokk Yaakar coalition currently holds a majority in the Senegalese parliament and has been a major obstacle to Faye and Sonko’s progressive agenda, prompting the former to call for snap-elections. Analysts believe that PASTEF is likely to gain a parliamentary majority, given the political pair’s popularity and Faye’s large margin of victory in the March election.

The significant upheaval in Senegalese politics – exemplified by mass protests following Ousmane Sonko’s imprisonment in 2023, the postponement and eventual rescheduling of the presidential election by Macky Sall, and the release of both Sonko and Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who now leads the nation – highlights the strength and resilience of Senegal's democratic institutions. Despite facing existential political challenges, Senegal has maintained stability and stands as a beacon of democracy in West Africa, especially as neighboring countries like Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso experience declining democratic governance due to recent coups. International observers should closely monitor the upcoming legislative elections on November 17, as a victory for PASTEF could have significant regional implications. If Faye and Sonko are able to implement their more radical policies with a legislative majority, such as creating a Senegalese currency and renegotiating oil and gas contracts with multinational corporations, it could further alter the political landscape in the nation. Additionally, Faye’s statements about reexamining Senegal’s relationship with its former colonial power France, alongside his high-profile meeting with President Xi Jinping of China in September, suggest he intends to steer the nation in a different geopolitical direction than his predecessors. Amid significant political upheaval in West Africa, exemplified by the coups in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, Faye and Sonko’s bold and radical policies represent a major ideological shift achieved through peaceful and democratic means, demonstrating that positive change is possible by operating within existing institutions rather than through violent coups or uprisings.

An Overview of Senegal’s 2024 Presidential Election

Introduction

Campaign

Faye and Sonko’s Administration So Far

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The Onero Institute