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The month of January in Senegal was marked by growing election fever in the runup to the February 2024 presidential election. Among the candidates in the running, two prominent figures attracted particular attention : Karim Wade, who has emerged from his eight-year retreat and silence, and Ousmane Sonko, a charismatic young opposition leader. However, controversy has erupted over the validity of their respective candidacies. The Supreme Court upheld Ousmane Sonko's conviction for defamation, calling into question his participation in the election. At the same time, heated debates took place in the political and media spheres concerning Karim Wade's French nationality, raising questions about the Senegalese Democratic Party (PDS) candidate's ability to stand. In early February, on the eve of the official electoral campaign, the Senegalese president announced the repeal of the decree convening the electoral body, thereby postponing the presidential elections originally scheduled for February 25, 2024.

This was the start of violent demonstrations and protests, which even led to loss of life, notably on the campus of Gaston Berger University in Saint-Louis in the north of the country. Calls for dialogue were made by President Sall, as well as by certain civil society actors, while political pressure was maintained by the continuing demonstrations.

On February 12, a communiqué jointly signed by the two previous presidents, Abdou Diouf and Abdoulaye Wade, called on "the living forces" to subscribe to dialogue in order to calm the political climate. A few days earlier, the Timbuktu Institute had called for solutions to be found through "constructive, inclusive and sincere" dialogue. For the Institute's Director, Dr. Bakary Sambe: "In order to protect Senegal from instability, we must urgently take a proactive approach, despite all considerations, and aim first and foremost for a consensual political framework as a prerequisite for the preservation of democracy, peace and stability. We must not run the risk of electoral violence which, combined with the jihadist threat on our doorstep, would plunge Senegal into instability. The region does not need another crisis.

According to the Timbuktu Institute, "we should perhaps not despair of the intelligence of the political class in all its diversity, so that at all costs we can avoid a stalemate that would be damaging not only to Senegal's stability, but also to regional peace and security".

Despite the demonstration scheduled for February 13 in Dakar and other regions, consultations are already underway in religious circles and certain civil society organizations to support the idea of this dialogue, whose contours are still unclear and whose future is uncertain despite the political compromises in sight, and which has been widely covered by the national press.

However, the European Union had already announced the deployment of an electoral observation mission to Senegal to monitor the electoral process and guarantee its transparency, led by Malin Björk MEP. Similarly, Senegal's Constitutional Council had already officially completed the stage of checking sponsorships and then validated the candidacies of 20 candidates, excluding Sonko and Wade. The list includes Prime Minister Amadou Ba, the presidential camp's candidate, Idrissa Seck, Mahammed Boun Abdallah Dionne, former Dakar mayor Khalifa Sall and Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar Faye, Sonko's nominee. However, the latter has been detained since April 2023 for "contempt of court" and "defamation". The decision prompted mixed reactions, with some hailing it as a necessary step to ensure the integrity of the electoral process, while others criticized it as politically motivated. Karim Wade decided to take his case to the international courts.

Following protests from a number of candidates, including Karim Wade, Parliament voted to set up a committee of inquiry to examine the decisions of the Constitutional Council concerning presidential candidacies. The committee's aim is to shed light on any irregularities or acts of corruption by certain judges in the candidacy validation process, and to propose reforms to strengthen the integrity of the electoral process in the future. What happens next will be much clearer after the long-awaited opinion of the Constitutional Council and the start of the announced dialogue, which is giving rise to a stormy debate among Senegal's political class and intellectuals, who seem to be clinging to great principles in defense of the institutions.

On the international scene, Senegal, represented by Justice Minister Aïssata Tall Sall, was at the center of discussions at the United Nations Human Rights Council. The country defended its positions on various issues, including LGBT’s rights, affirming its commitment to human rights while highlighting the country's cultural and religious specificities. Senegal also announced the dissolution of its last MINUSMA detachment in Mali, marking the end of its military commitment to this peacekeeping mission. Finally, Senegalese President Macky Sall visited Mauritania to discuss joint projects, notably the imminent start-up of the West African offshore gas extraction project, known as GTA. The meeting also addressed topics such as the fisheries agreement between the two countries and regional security issues.