senegalpresidentialrun-off

KENYA
March2013Election
The squabbles and bickering continue even as the poll date
is announced.
The Independent Electoral and Bound-aries Commission(IEBC)has set the country’s general elections for March 4th2013,because of the failure by the Prime Minister and the President to dissolve the ruling coalition.
‘‘We tried hard to consult with the two principals on the possibility of dissolv-ing the coalition to enable us to set the election date in accordance with the Court ruling,’’IEBC Chairman Isaac Hassan,told a news conference in Nai-robi on March18th.
Kenya’s presidential,parliamentary, senatorial and gubernatorial polls were fixed for the same day under2010con-stitution.
Hassan said the electoral body con-sulted President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga,and had failed to reach an agreement on when to dissolve the ruling coalition,created after the disputed general elections in 2007.
‘‘We have confirmed there is disagree-ment.We respect the rule of law.We understand the rules,’’Hassan said.He added that the electoral body was ready for a December general election,but could not set the date.
Kenya’s newly established Supreme Court declined to rule on the disagree-ment over the elections date and referred the issue back to the High Court.A Panel of the High Court Judges said the general elections could be held in December,if the two princi-pals agreed to dissolve the ruling coali-tion.In the absence of an agreement, the IEBC was required to set the date 60days after the end of parliament’s official term on January31st2013.
‘‘There have been appeals.But there is no stay of the judgment,’’Hassan said, referring to the High Court ruling, which has been challenged.An appeal is still pending before the Court of Appeal.
Hassan said the electoral date was set for March because the IEBC required time to procure electoral materials and electoral officers.The IEBC said only four political parties had complied with the requirements for political parties, which include a political party list. Odinga prefers the elections to be held in December2012,citing disruptions to the school calendar and the need to spare farmers from disruptions.The public schools are usually the most visi-
ble polling centres.
President Kibaki prefers to stick to the
March date,but critics say his term as
President ends on December30th2012
and extending the polls would create a
crisis.
‘‘We are just going by the constitution.
We have not exhausted option A
(December).We are going with option
B(March).We are a Commission
whose values is the rule of law.We
respect and will implement the Court
rulings,’’Hassan said,when asked
whether the elections could be held in
December if so directed by Court.
There are fears the Orange Democratic
Movement(ODM),which has directed
its supporters to push for December
elections,could decide to pull out of
the ruling Coalition,which would auto-
matically compel the IEBC to set a new
date.(PANA,Nairobi17⁄3)
SENEGAL
Presidential Run-Off
The opposition unite behind Macky
Sall to topple Wade from power.
Voting took place in Senegal in a run-
offpresidential election on March25th
in which the opposition took steps to
unite against the incumbent Abdoulaye
Wade.
Mr Wade,who has been in power for
12years,failed to win thefirst round
outright in February.His opponents
gathered behind his challenger,former
prime minister Macky Sall,for the run-
offvote.
Wade’s controversial bid for a third
consecutive term had sparked weeks of
violent protests in January,when six
people were killed.However,the cam-
paign for the second round was largely
incident-free.But Wade’s campaign
staffdenied opposition claims that he
was courting local and religious leaders
with cash in order to secure their votes.
(BBC News Online25⁄3)
The constitutional council on March
6th published thefinal results of the
first round of the presidential election
of February26th,confirming that the
runoffwould be between Abdoulaye
Wade and Macky Sall.The constitu-
tional council confirmed that President
Abdoulaye Wade camefirst with
34.81%of the votes followed by
Macky Sall with26.58%.
Voter turnout in thefirst round was
51.58%.Here are thefinal results pub-
lished by the Constitutional Council:
Abdoulaye Wade:942,327(34.81%)
Macky Sall:719,367(26.58%)
Moustapha Niasse:357,330(13.20%)
Ousmane Tanor Dieng:305,924(11.30%)
Idrissa Seck:212,853(7.86%)
Cheikh Abiboulah Die ye:52,196(1.93%)
Ibrahima Fall:48,972(1.81%)
Cheikh Tidiane Gadio:26,655(0.98%)
Mor Dieng:11,402(0.42%)
Djibril Ngom:10,207(0.38%)
Oumar Hassimou Dia:6,469(0.24%)
Amsatou Sow Sidibe:5,167(0.19%)
Doudou Ndoye:4,566(0.17%)
Diouma Diakhate:3,354(0.12%).(PANA,
Dakar6⁄3)
During the evening of March25th,
President Wade admitted defeat as ini-
tial results of the second round gave an
overwhelming lead to Macky Sall.The
Senegalese Press Agency said Wade
‘‘phoned his rival Macky Sall at2130
GMT to congratulate him after thefirst
results showed him to be the winner of
the presidential run-off’’vote.
Shortly ahead of the unexpected
announcement,thousands of people
gathered outside Sall’s party headquar-
ters and spilled into the streets chant-
ing,dancing and hooting their horns.
Win For Democracy
Senegal’s media on March26th hailed
Macky Sall’s victory in the presidential
election and incumbent Abdoulaye
Wade’s acceptance of defeat as a vic-
tory for the people.
‘‘Goodbye Wade’’headlined Le Quoti-
dien newspaper,praising the veteran
leader’s‘‘honourable’’attitude over his
phonecall to the country’s new presi-
dent just three and a half hours after
polls closed to congratulate him.
‘‘Wade’s defeat...has transformed into
a victory for the people and Senegalese
democracy,’’read the newspaper’s edi-
torial.
However,the newspaper was scornful
of the octogenarian leader’sfinal
months,in which he defiantly pushed
for a third term in office,sparking
Internal Developments
19196–Africa Research Bulletin
deadly riots and putting in doubt the status of one of Africa’s pioneer democracies.
Wade ended his reign believing‘‘we were resigned under the splendour of his unparalleled genius,but on March 25th,he stepped down from his divine mountain.’’
Hugely popular in the beginning of his 12-year rule in2000,Wade distanced himself from the population amid nep-otism,publicfinance scandals,rising food prices and power cuts while he focused on fanciful legacy projects. The Walfadjiri daily headlined with:‘‘A victory for Macky with more than 60%,Wade beaten in knockout.’’
‘‘A victory of the student over his mas-ter,some say,but no,in short it is a victory of the people,’’read the Wal-fadjiri editorial.It said the victory presented a challenge
for Sall.
The editorial warned the country’s new
leaders that they must‘‘know from
now on they have to deal with a people
who know how to determine their own
history.’’
Walfadjiri listed some of the problems
awaiting Macky Sall:wealth circulating
in a few elite circles,families battling
yearlyflooding and schools pumping
out the unemployed.
‘‘Macky Sall is facing history,he is
expected to keep his word,’’the news-
paper added,referring to a promise to
reduce presidential terms tofive years.
Le Sud also declared‘‘Senegal won
again’’,saying the whole world had
had its eyes on Senegal‘‘fearing the
cycle of violence Africa so often offers
up in political jousting.’’
‘‘This election has put the spotlight on
two men who enter into the political
history of Senegal,a small country in
size,but whose valiant people were the
main winners in yesterday’s election,’’
said Le Soleil.
‘‘Senegal is a country poor in natural
riches,compared to other African
countries,but it is rich in democracy
and quality human resources.
‘‘Expectations are many,’’the newspa-
per said,adding that Senegalese
expected their new leaders to be a
model,especially in the management of
publicfinances.(Sources as referenced in
text26⁄3)
Meanwhile,Nigerian President Good-
luck Jonathan on March26th congratu-
lated Macky Sall on his election as the
new president of Senegal,joining lead-
ers who have called the vote an exam-
ple of African democracy.
Jonathan,in a statement from his
office,said Sall’s election was a‘‘victory
for democracy and just reward for all
Senegalese people who kept faith in the
democratic process.’’
The Nigerian leader also commended
incumbent President Abdoulaye Wade
‘‘for graciously accepting defeat,show-
ing great maturity and statesmanship
and organising an election that was
adjudged free and fair’’.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy also
hailed the results of the presidential
election in Senegal.The outcome‘‘is
very good news for Africa in general
and for Senegal in particular,’’Sarkozy
told France Info radio,describing the
former French colony as a‘‘model of
democracy’’.(ÓAFP26⁄32012)
Macky Sall himself said the poll
marked a‘‘new era’’for the country.
Speaking shortly after Wade admitted
defeat in front of thousands of cheering
supporters in the capital,Dakar,Sall
promised to be a president for all Sene-
galese.
In the end,it seemed that the people
were simply relieved that democracy
had prevailed.Many had feared that
Wade’s candidacy for a third term
meant he would try to cling to power
and tarnish the country’s image as a
peaceful and stable democracy.Senegal
remains the only country in West
Africa to have never undergone a
coup.
Thijs Berman,the head of the Euro-
pean Union observer mission to
Senegal,said the results were very
clear-about65%for Mr Sall and
35%for Mr Wade so‘‘there is no
hesitation as to who is the winner’’.
(BBC News Online26⁄3)
Senegal Macky Sall
Macky Sall,a stolid geologist who once looked like Abdoulaye Wade’s designated heir,eventually achieved the highest office by confronting his tenacious former men-tor at the polls.It was thefirst time he had stood for the presidency.
There was a time when Sall,50,was widely tipped to get there under Wade’s patronage:many observers thought he was being groomed to succeed the veteran lea-der.But after a spectacular rise during which he occupied several ministerial port-folios before becoming prime minister,he fell from grace,quit the party and struck out on his own.
Sall was born to a modest family in the western city of Fatick,to a civil servant father and a mother who sold groundnuts. He graduated from Dakar’s Cheikh Anta Diop University with a degree in geology, before heading to France to further his education in thefield.
His father was a dedicated member of the Socialist Party(PS)which had been in power since independence,but Sall says he quickly became disgusted with its misrule, joining the opposition in1983.
Sall was at Wade’s side when hefinally unseated the socialists in the2000elec-tions.A year later,the new President appointed him Mining Minister.In2003 he became Minister of Territorial Admin-istration and government spokesman before taking up the office of Prime Minis-ter a year later.
Sall led his mentor’s election campaign in 2007,but lost his spot as prime minister in the cabinet shortly afterward,though he went on to be elected speaker of the national assembly.
It was here that he would make what he says on his website was perceived as a ‘‘heavy political mistake’’:he failed to inform Wade that parliament was sum-moning his son Karim for questioning. Karim Wade,the head of a national agency carrying out massive infrastructure projects ahead of a summit of the Organi-sation of the Islamic Conference,faced allegations of improperfinancing.Sall paid dearly for his mistake.
Lawmakers promptly drew up a law reducing the mandate of the national assembly speaker fromfive years to one, prompting him to resign.
He went on to create his liberal Republican Alliance,under which he was elected mayor of Fatick in2009–a year the opposition claimed several large towns in legislative polls as dissatisfaction with Wade grew.
A tall,plump man,Sall is nicknamed ‘‘Niangal’’in the local Wolof language, referring to his closed,austere expression, while he comes across as naive.
But his entourage says appearances are deceiving.
‘‘He is not as docile as he seems,’’said El Hadji Wack Ly,a lawmaker with Wade’s ruling Senegalese Democratic Party.
In an interview with AFP,Sall said that if elected,‘‘several emergencies’’loomed. These include a‘‘dramatic publicfinance situation’’as well as a food crisis in the north where some800,000Senegalese are going hungry due to a drought gripping the Sahel.
Sall wants to halve the size of the govern-ment–a cut of some20ministers–reduce Senegal’s diplomatic representation abroad and use the savings to lower the prices of basic goods.(ÓAFP26⁄32012)
March1st–31st2012Africa Research Bulletin–19197。