Senegal’s Political Turmoil and the Rise of Diomaye Faye
In a surprising move that stirred national unrest, former President Macky Sall announced in February that Senegal’s elections would be postponed until the end of the year. Sall justified the delay by alleging corruption within the constitutional council, the body responsible for determining candidate eligibility. This assertion and the consequent election postponement ignited widespread protests across the country, as citizens perceived the delay as a tactic to entrench the existing power structure.
The political tension escalated when popular opposition leaders Ousmane Sonko and Diomaye Faye were imprisoned on charges of undermining state security and fomenting insurrection. Many Senegalese believed these imprisonments were politically motivated, aimed at sidelining challengers to the incumbent regime. The constitutional council, however, overruled the election delay, ensuring that the elections would proceed as initially scheduled.
In a dramatic turn of events, Sonko and Faye were released from prison ten days before the election. Sonko, who had finished third in the 2019 presidential race, was disqualified from running in the current election. He threw…
