Rédaction Africa Links 24 with pierre Dieme
Published on 2024-03-22 01:02:20
The race for the presidential election on March 24 in Senegal has been tumultuous for the candidate of the ruling coalition, Benno Bokk Yakaar (BBY). Amadou Ba, the former Prime Minister designated as the heir by President Macky Sall, had to overcome the distrust of some prominent members of the majority before consolidating his candidacy.
During his first campaign rally in Kaolack on March 18, Amadou Ba appeared triumphant, rallying a crowd of thousands of supporters amid cheers. However, the weeks leading up to this moment were challenging for the candidate of the ruling party. Several high-ranking members of BBY were conspicuously absent from rallies and fueled uncertainty about the president’s actual support. Some media outlets even raised the possibility of a candidate change in favor of former Prime Minister Mahammed Dionne.
It was in this tense atmosphere that Amadou Ba met with Macky Sall at the presidential palace in the night of March 12 to 13, canceling a campaign stop in Saint-Louis in the process. “It seemed clear that the defiance towards anti-Ba was at the very least maintained, if not tolerated by the president,” a presidential advisor said, as cited by Le Monde. The next day, Macky Sall summoned about a hundred APR executives to restore order. Since then, the prominent figures of BBY have publicly shown their support for Amadou Ba.
However, the distrust towards him persists within the majority. Since his appointment as Prime Minister in September 2022, the former Minister of Finance has faced dissent, with some questioning his legitimacy. The crisis peaked in January when the PDS accused him of corruption to eliminate their candidate Karim Wade. A part of his own majority then rallied against him, leading to the postponement of the election.
Even though Macky Sall has recently rallied behind Amadou Ba, some may have interpreted his initial attitude as ambiguous. Minister Mame Mbaye Niang has notably remained one of his most vehement critics. In this disrupted presidential election, Amadou Ba will have to succeed, according to Le Monde, in effectively uniting his coalition while convincing the young electorate tempted by the radical opposition of Ousmane Sonko. A significant challenge for the “continuity” ticket in this uncertain climate.
Read the original article(French) on Dakar Matin
