By Samba Dialimpa Badji
When Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye dissolved parliament on September 12, it was still under the control of the former ruling coalition. Benno Bock Jaakaar or “Unity with Hope”. In calling for early elections, Faye said he wants a comfortable majority to be able to enact the deep reforms he promised when elected to the top job in March.
On November 17, Senegalese voters heeded his call, giving Faye’s Pastef party a landslide victory in early elections. According to the official results of the National Electoral Commission and confirmed by the Constitutional Council, Pastef won 130 of the 165 seats at stake. The overwhelming majority means Faye will now be able to implement his reform agenda. But having raised expectations, he will now have to live up to the hopes of the Senegalese who have placed their hopes in him.
Changing political landscape
Pastef’s election victory opens a new page in Senegal’s political history, completing a shift in the political landscape that began several years ago when Faye’s mentor, current prime minister, Ousmane Sonko, became the main leader of the opposition to the former president, Macky Sall. This reconfiguration continued with Faye’s election as president in March and culminated in the popular mandate he received three weeks ago.
Not only has Pastef become the country’s leading political force, but the political parties that have dominated Senegalese politics since the creation of the multi-party system in the 1970s have almost all disappeared from the legislature. The Socialist Party, which ruled the country for 40 years from 1960 to 2000, did not field a candidate in the March presidential election. In the legislative elections, it joined the coalition led by former prime minister, Amadou Ba, who finished second in March.
The Senegalese Democratic Party, which has existed since 1974 and ruled the country from 2000 to 2012 under Abdoulaye Wade, also did not have a presidential candidate and ran as a coalition partner on a list led by Macky Sall in legislative elections.
Time for reform
Faye’s election as president in March created enormous expectations among his supporters. Having given him the parliamentary majority he asked for, they will now count on him to deliver.
One of Faye’s main expectations – and one of Faye’s main promises when he was a candidate – concerns reform of the country’s judicial system, which has long been criticised by civil society organisations, especially regarding prolonged detention without trial and living conditions for detainees in prisons. Faye’s promised reforms carried added weight given the alleged persecution he and Sonko faced in the run-up to the presidential election by Sall, who has often been accused of politicising the judiciary to target his political opponents.
After taking office, Faye launched a national dialogue process on justice reform. Among the main recommendations arising from it are the creation of a Constitutional Court to replace the current Constitutional Council, revision of the Criminal and Family Code, limitation of the powers of prosecutors, construction of new prisons and digitalisation of the judicial system. These and other conclusions now await implementation.
Beyond investment, the success of Faye’s Senegal 2050 plan will depend on the government’s ability to guarantee long-term political stability and mobilise the efforts of all actors in Senegalese society.
Another measure Faye has promised as part of judicial reform is to reduce the powers of the president, which many consider excessive. In particular, he plans to introduce a procedure for the resignation of the president in cases of serious misconduct, which is not in the current Senegalese Constitution.
One question remains: Will Faye repeal the amnesty law passed shortly before the presidential election in March, which covers “all acts that may constitute criminal or correctional offences committed between February 1st, 2021 and February 25th, 2024… demonstrations or having political motivation”?
According to human rights groups such as Amnesty International, the law establishes impunity for human rights violations and is an insult to victims of mass demonstrations that took place in Senegal between 2021 and 2023, during which more than 60 people were killed by the armed forces. Faye has yet to take a clear position on this issue.
Economic problems
Another major challenge for Faye and Sonko is creating jobs, especially for young people, who make up the majority of Senegal’s population and are hit hard by unemployment. About 75 percent of Senegal’s population is under 35, and the overall unemployment rate topped 23 percent in the first quarter of 2024, according to the national statistics agency.
Due to the country’s precarious economic situation, every year hundreds of young people try to reach Europe by setting out to sea in makeshift boats, putting their lives at risk.
In September, Faye visited Mbour, a seaside town about 50 miles south of Dakar, days after 39 young people died there trying to reach Spain by sea. While there, he stated that “the government is working hard to implement adequate policies to give jobs to young people here in Senegal and invite them to rebuild our country”.
Faye and Sonko will also have to restore the confidence of markets, investors and Senegal’s international financial partners after doubts were raised about the accuracy of public finance figures presented by the Sall government.
Following a review carried out in the early months of Faye’s presidency, Sonko in September accused the former government of falsifying these figures, especially regarding the country’s debt. Although the audit had not yet been certified by the Court of Auditors, as required by law, Sonko’s announcement led to a downgrade of Senegal’s sovereign debt by Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s.
Additionally, Senegalese media reported earlier in November that the International Monetary Fund had decided to suspend its payments to Dakar until a review was completed.
A new vision for Senegal
To make its position clear to voters ahead of parliamentary elections, Faye’s government presented its vision for the country in October. The plan, called “Senegal 2050”, is a road map for the next quarter century based on four pillars: building a competitive economy, environmental sustainability, developing human capital and social justice, and overhauling governance.
The plan includes proposals to invest US$21 billion over the next five years to modernise Senegal’s infrastructure, improve education and strengthen health care, while increasing annual growth in other areas by about 15 percent. The government is counting on Senegal’s nascent oil and gas industry to partly finance this bold transformation. He is also seeking to better control the government debt, which has risen sharply in recent years.
However, beyond investment, the success of the Senegal 2050 plan will depend on the government’s ability to guarantee long-term political stability and mobilise the efforts of all actors in Senegalese society.
This will not be an easy task given the repeated episodes of political turmoil the country has experienced over the past decade, especially when it comes to changing presidents, and the erosion of democracy that has occurred under Sall. It will also mean convincing young Senegalese in particular that their future at home will be brighter than abroad. Faye and Sonko now have the parliamentary majority they asked for to carry out reforms. The people of Senegal will expect results from them.
Samba Dialimpa Badji is a Senegalese journalist with 20 years of experience in print, radio and online journalism. He has worked for several media outlets in Senegal, as well as for the BBC and Radio France Internationale. He is currently pursuing a PhD in Journalism and Media Studies at OsloMet University in Oslo, Norway. This article was first published in World Politics Review.
