Plainclothes police chase protesters in Dakar, Senegal June 17, 2022. ZOHRA BENSEMRA/ REUTERS
Burnt tires, burning dustbins, tear gas… Several main thoroughfares in Dakar were the scene of clashes between young people and police on Friday June 17, as the political climate hardened after a month and a half of Senegal’s general elections. The escalation was feared as authorities banned a large demonstration called by the opposition on Wednesday to protest the invalidation of a national list of candidates by the Yewwi Askan Wi (YAW) coalition for the July 31 election.
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“Why doesn’t the Force let us demonstrate? This right is guaranteed by our democracy,” protests Amadou Gueye, 27, who had already taken to the streets in March 2021 following the arrest of Ousmane Sonko, an opposition leader. The questioning of this political figure in a case of alleged rape had sparked a multi-day popular uprising in Dakar and other major cities in the country, resulting in a dozen deaths.
The police also surrounded the opponent’s house on Friday, preventing him from demonstrating but also from going to the mosque to pray. Dakar Mayor Barthélémy Dias, another opponent of Senegalese President Macky Sall, was also blocked at his home by police while three opposition figures, Déthié Fall, Ahmet Aidara and Mame Diarra Fame, were arrested, according to Mr Sonko Party.
At the same time, clashes broke out in different parts of the city. According to several Senegalese media, even a total station in the commercial and popular district of Colobane was searched. “President Macky Sall wants to go to the elections alone with no opponents, but we will not accept that. This is just the beginning of the demonstrations, we are ready to mobilize up to the general elections,” says Lamine Diémé, covering his shoulders with a Senegalese flag.
Exchange of stones for tear gas
According to the Senegalese Red Cross, at least one young person died in Dakar after a barracks fire in Colobane, where the exchange of stones for tear gas continued for most of the day. Around 20 people were reportedly injured in the clashes. Despite the ban, a protest march was also held in Ziguinchor, the capital of Casamance (south), where Ousmane Sonko is mayor, in a climate of violence. Press and opposition reports of two deaths in Casamance, one in Zinguinchor, the other in the town of Bignona.
Alongside fury at the rejection of the opposition list for the general election, protesters are denouncing the ascribed intention of President Macky Sall to run for a third term in 2024 and protesting the high cost of living while prices have been skyrocketing for years, months on of the war in Ukraine.
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However, the desire to fight is not unanimous in public opinion. “We have other means to solve the problem. These clashes are harmful to our democracy,” said Séni Thiaw, 37, a resident who came out to watch the clashes from afar without taking part. In a statement released Friday night, the Benno Bokk Yaakar (BBY) majority coalition hailed the “democratic maturity” of the people “who failed to respond to the YAW coalition’s call for insurgency” and hailed “the effectiveness of public action in law enforcement.”
“A Question of Democracy”
In the middle of the night, Ousmane Sonko attacked Macky Sall from his home “who wants to keep political opponents away from any competition” and said the death toll of three was “the sole and exclusive responsibility of Macky Sall”. “It’s not just a question of the list, but of democracy,” the opponent decreed in a long speech in French, then in Wolof.
The opposition has consistently denounced the invalidation of the national list of the YAW coalition, led by Mr Sonko’s party, as a ploy by President Macky Sall to ward off his opponents. In fact, this refusal excludes Mr Sonko and certain opposition figures from the general election, and the authorities have so far shown no sign of compromise.
This political impasse a few weeks before the election worries Alioune Tine, observer and human rights defender. “These events reflect a degeneration of Senegalese democracy. Having such trouble submitting lists means our voting system isn’t working properly,” he said. The day before the demonstration, the association of imams and ulemas in Senegal expressed its concerns and raised the possibility of postponing the elections.
According to Alioune Tine, the radicalization of an opposition that is now calling for an uprising is primarily the result of a lack of political dialogue. “We recommend more restraint. But the situation must also make the President speak up in order to achieve peaceful and democratic elections with a minimum consensus on the rules,” he continues, casually reminding that the freedom to demonstrate is a constitutional right.