Senegal, often referred to as the model of African democracy, has overcome political turmoil, including controversy over the postponement of the presidential election, and completed a peaceful transition of power in March. Contrary to other countries where coups are commonplace, this presidential election further strengthened Senegal’s democracy and is expected to lead to rapid economic growth. It is noteworthy whether the 19 countries in Africa scheduled for presidential and general elections this year will follow Senegal’s precedent.
Senegal, once hailed as the model of democracy, experienced uncommon political turmoil when the opposition leader Ousmane Sonko, former representative of the PASTEF party, was arrested on charges of sexual assault last year. Certain protests in support of Sonko in various places turned violent, including the capital Dakar, and some protesters were killed by live ammunition fired by the police. As the turmoil escalated, President Macky Sall abruptly postponed the presidential election on February 3rd, which was just three weeks away. Sall argued that the election should be postponed and a parliamentary investigation should be conducted following the Senegalese Constitutional Court’s refusal to register the presidential candidate of the former minority opposition party, the Senegalese Democratic Party (PDS). The PDS also passed the bill for presidential election postponement in parliament along with the ruling party led by President Sall.
However, the attempts by the administration and legislature to postpone the election were ultimately checked by the judiciary. The Senegalese Constitutional Court ruled the decision to postpone the election unconstitutional. Sall accepted the ruling and confirmed March 24th as the presidential election date. In the end, the 44-year-old candidate Basirou Diomaye Faye, the successor of former representative Sonko, secured victory by winning a majority vote in the first round of voting, beating former Prime Minister Amadou Ba, the ruling party candidate. Experts have assessed this election as an example that shows the principle of separation of powers in Senegal’s democracy is functioning properly.
Successfully going through a democratic change of government, the economic outlook for Senegal is also bright. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects Senegal’s annual economic growth rate, which was 5.3% in 2023, to reach 10.6% this year and 7.4% next year. Paul Melly, Researcher for Africa at the British Think Tank Chatham House, said, “The turning point shown by Senegal has bolstered the efforts of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to maintain a multi-party political culture,” but also predicted that “it will take a long time for a healthy democratic culture to take root in Africa as military coups have been occurring continuously in West African countries until recently.”