In a highly anticipated speech, Senegalese President Macky Sall announced Monday that he won’t seek a controversial third term in February’s elections.
Why the controversy?
- ⛔ Senegal’s constitution says third terms aren’t even allowed, but
- 📜 A recent constitutional revision made each term shorter, and
- ⏲️ Sall’s supporters were arguing that this reset the clock for him
Sall himself was keeping pretty coy there for a while, dropping a “ni oui, ni non” (neither yes nor no) when asked if he’d run again. So when his fiercest critic was barred from office this year, it seemed something was up.
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Intrigue’s take: Now that the president has ruled out a third term, there’s some relief that Senegal’s institutions will be spared this particular test.
But this saga is a reminder that democracies don’t rest on a constitution alone, nor are they defended by institutions alone. Much still comes down to people; whether it’s the thousands of recent protestors, or the president’s acknowledgement on Monday that “Senegal is more than me.”
Also worth noting:
- Courts in Senegal have this year convicted firebrand opposition figure Ousmane Sonko of libel and “corrupting the youth”, effectively barring him from running for president next year.
- Protests broke out after Sonko’s convictions, leading to several deaths.