Africa-Press – Senegal. <\/strong><\/span>WASHINGTON – When President Macky Sall announced in a televised address Monday that he would not seek a third term, democracy advocates and opposition supporters in the country celebrated.<\/p>\nSenegal\u2019s 61-year-old president said the country \u201cis bigger than\u201d he is and is \u201cfull of leaders equally capable of pushing the country toward emergence.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sall\u2019s supporters, like Saidibou Sy, a Dakar resident, said the president made the right call. \u201cIf he [Sall] had decided to serve a third term, it would have been complicated for the country,\u201d he told Reuters.<\/p>\n
Violent protests rocked the West African nation for weeks following speculation that the president would seek a third term. Until Monday, Sall refused to confirm or deny whether he intended to seek reelection.<\/p>\n
Mucahid Durmaz, a senior analyst at Verisk Maplecroft, a London global risk intelligence company, said increased pressure from the opposition might have been behind the president’s decision.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe opposition bloc has succeeded in utilizing socioeconomic grievances to sustain a nationwide protest movement against Sall\u2019s rule,\u201d Durmaz told VOA. \u201cThe widespread protests convinced Sall that a third term would deepen polarization, undermine the country\u2019s democratic credentials and endanger the future of development projects.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
Similar decisions ‘unlikely’<\/b><\/p>\n
Despite the positive response to Sall\u2019s announcement, Durmaz said it was \u201cunlikely to convince juntas and authoritarian leaders in power across West Africa to follow suit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sall was first elected president in 2012 before returning to the presidency seven years later. Actions during his time in power \u2014 jailing opposition figures and removing party officials who challenged his candidacy for a third term \u2014 were seen as an attempt to hold on to power.<\/p>\n
But conflict over the extension of term limits on the continent isn\u2019t new.<\/p>\n
Tunisian President Kais Saied delivers a speech during his visit to Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia, Sept. 20, 2021<\/p>\n
In Tunisia, the country approved a new constitution in 2022 that sealed a one-man rule with President Kais Saied, 65, in a referendum that observers said dealt a blow to democratic efforts. The new constitution removed a provision that had prevented leaders from altering the two-term limit, according to the New York advocacy group Human Rights Watch.<\/p>\n
The continent has had its share of long-serving leaders, including Equatorial Guinea\u2019s Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, Cameroon\u2019s Paul Biya, Denis Sassou Nguesso of the Republic of Congo, Uganda\u2019s Yoweri Museveni, King Eswatini III of Eswatini and Eritrea\u2019s Isaias Afwerki.<\/p>\n
Senegal stood out<\/b><\/p>\n
Political instability, coups and countercoups in countries like Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea have also derailed democratic processes in the region, observers say. But for a long time, Senegal stood out for its peaceful transition of power.<\/p>\n
\u201cSenegal\u2019s democratic culture has been entrenched thanks to a well-organized civil society that has protected democratic norms from leaders trying to hold on to power,\u00a0\u00bb Durmaz said. \u201cThis isn\u2019t the case in the likes of Cameroon, Tunisia or Equatorial Guinea as civil society is nonexistent or has been heavily suppressed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Odeh Friday, Nigeria country director for Accountability Lab, an advocacy group focused on governance, said that the Senegalese president was honoring a \u201cverbal commitment\u201d he made at the second U.S.-organized Summit for Democracy in Washington in March.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think Sall\u2019s surprising decision could potentially serve as a shining example for other African leaders who face similar questions about their political futures,\u201d Friday said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is quite an early decision to make to see what it means for the African continent,\u00a0\u00bb Friday said, \u00ab\u00a0and it remains uncertain whether the decision will have a lasting impact on the behavior of other African leaders, even within the region, because the power structures are different and the willingness to uphold term limits may vary.\u201d<\/p>\n
Former Prime Minister Idrissa Seck is pictured in Dakar, Senegal, Feb. 5, 2012<\/p>\n
Democratic possibilities<\/b><\/p>\n
Friday added that Sall\u2019s decision could also show other African leaders that \u201cit is possible to allow democratic principles and processes to run their course.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0The voices of the people in the democratic setting should be the key, and I am very hopeful that Africa will continue to move from where we are to a better place.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
As for the future of Senegal in the wake of political changes, Durmaz said former Prime Minister Idrissa Seck could emerge as a viable candidate.<\/p>\n
Seck \u201cis likely to present himself as a moderate candidate who can lead a smooth transition into the post-Sall era,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
source: Seneweb.com<\/b><\/p>\n
Pour plus d’informations et d’analyses sur la Senegal<\/a>, suivez Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Par: voanews.com Africa-Press – Senegal. WASHINGTON – When President Macky Sall announced in a televised address Monday that he would not seek a third term, democracy advocates and opposition supporters in the country celebrated. Senegal\u2019s 61-year-old president said the country \u201cis bigger than\u201d he is and is \u201cfull of leaders equally capable of pushing the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":82,"featured_media":46970,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,10],"tags":[43,47,44],"class_list":["post-46971","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dossiers","category-toutes-les-actualites","tag-africa-press-2","tag-africa-press-senegal","tag-senegal-2"],"yoast_head":"\n
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