POLITICS
FELWINE SARR: “This too many mandate tempts you”
The very fact of maintaining chiaroscuro is an admission. Authoritarian drift begins when the prince can make the linguistic sign say what he wants. The Senegal skiff looks like a boat that has lost its course.
The President of the Republic in December 2019, when asked whether he would run for a third term or not, replied with a neither yes nor a no. In his address to the nation on December 31, 2022, he did not raise the issue. However, all the actions he has taken since then indicate that he is preparing to go (Lu Defu Waxu). Let us not impugn his motives, some would say, for the time being he said nothing definitive. To a question whose only possible answer is no, since the Constitution is clear on this point; the very fact of maintaining the chiaroscuro is an admission, at least of a temptation or evaluation of the chances of success of such an undertaking. By this single attitude of maintaining the vagueness on an issue that involves the destiny of the whole community, the contract with the nation, which was signed in 2012 when it was sworn in, and renewed in 2016 after the referendum on the Constitution, has already been severed.
This non-response has the effect of taking the Senegalese people hostage and keeping them in the waiting, while their supporters occupy the media space and, as in 2012, try to make us understand that words no longer have the meaning that is theirs. Authoritarian drift begins when the prince can make the linguistic sign say what he wants. When “No person may exercise more than two consecutive terms”, no longer means, “No person may exercise more than two consecutive terms”. And it is to this interference of meaning that the presidential camp is engaged. Because here no matter the length of the mandate, it is the consecration of the latter that is limited to two. That was the purpose of our fight in 2012 against Wade’s third term. To establish a rhythm of alternation inscribed in the marble of the Constitution that ensures a democratic breathing, a renewal of the governing elites, the alternation of the projects of societies and the peaceful transmission of power.
What a setback, if we were in the same situation in 2024 as in 2012! All this for that! Unfortunately, Wade had already experienced the process. Appointing judges who are committed to his cause to the Constitutional Council, dropping his propagandists in the media and his jurists who try by a juridical sophistication (with this idea that constitutional law is complex and esoteric), to make acceptable a reading of Article 27 of the Constitution that is semantically, ethically, politically, legally, and thus trample on the ground the fundamental text that binds us and sets the rules that govern our living together. Only one individual, he was President of the Republic, cannot confiscate a power entrusted to him by the Senegalese people in terms that were a refusal of a monarchical devolution of power, a third mandate and a desire for social justice and accountability. The ultimate consequence of such an act is to desecrate the Constitution in the collective unconscious. Any community to make a whole whole, is based on rules that it puts above itself, above partisan ambitions and private interests in order to guarantee the pursuit of the general interest. The Constitution reflects the rules that form the basis of our political community and ultimately the people are the supreme constituent. To say to the latter «dear people you have not understood what you want, we the masters of constitutional science have understood better than you that no one can, does not mean in this specific case, no one can»In addition to ignoring the collective intelligence of Senegalese regarding the meaning of their political history, it is a holdup of our collective will. What the people want (at least on this issue), they clearly expressed in 2012 in the streets and in the ballot boxes.
Mr. President of the Republic,
The Senegal skiff looks like a boat that has lost its course and is wandering in the fog. A derelict ship sailing in troubled waters and preparing to face future storms. It is a ship that has lost some of its superb, whose captain seems to no longer see the clouds piling up, inhabited by the dream (which we legitimately lend you) of seeking a third mandate and no matter if this attempt plunges us into instability. No matter the 10 deaths that this fight for democratic breathing and alternation of power cost us in 2012; no matter if you yourself repeated several times urbi and orbi, that you had locked the Constitution; that the mandate the Senegalese gave you in 2019 was your second and final mandate. It does not matter that the Sahel region is unstable and that the island that Senegal constitutes cannot afford the luxury of opening the pandora’s box. There are many reasons to avoid that this desire to seek the mandate too much, does not embark us collectively in a most risky adventure.
Recently, we have witnessed a systematic unravelling of our societal and democratic achievements. Dikes yielding one after the other. Inexorable rise of the waters. François Mancabou died in the premises of the national police. Two gendarmes, Sergeant Fulbert Sambou and Chief Warrant Officer Didier Badji, who disappear under turbulent circumstances, including the first found dead, visibly drowned, and the second of whom we have no news. Cartoonists (Papito Kara) hijacking newspapers on the internet, imprisoned, some for liking posts with smileys. Pape Alé Niang, a journalist imprisoned for doing his work (informing) and being the subject of judicial harassment. A big mute that no longer is and that lets leak sensitive files, so that no one ignores them. Young people who are questioned during demonstrations and asked for their surnames; and when they are Casamançaise-sounding, they are arrested and taken into the salad basket, to the custody. An APR activist who calls for the defense of the third term with machetes, a deputy who promises to march on our corpses for the re-election of his champion in 2024. Citizens who are intimidated for the crime of opinion and who are put through the prison cell, each in turn, as if for a spin. After the March 2021 riots, 14 people died, some killed at close range (one of the scenes was filmed); no open investigation, no trial, no liability located to date. A pain of families compensated with bundles of CFA, which they accept for lack of better entrusting themselves to God and to the fatality of destiny. A deterioration of political mores rarely seen in this country. A National Assembly became a fair and an arena of rags. They insult each other wildly, they strike a woman member of Parliament, and even worse, they find a way to justify the unjustifiable, and therefore the despicable patriarchy that is gangrene in our society. Deputies, with the exception of a few, who do not live up to the demands of the republican debate entrusted to them by a people, who by voting in the last parliamentary elections as he did, wished to balance speech and power in the National Assembly and see its fundamental concerns calmly relayed and debated. Instead, we are witnessing in this place and in the public space a general degradation of speech that has become violent and abusive.
We witness in disbelief the erosion of what has made our country a nation that has been able to avoid ethnic-religious conflicts, military coups, civil wars in a post-colonial Africa struggling with multiple upheavals. This solid social fabric, despite its vulnerabilities, is the result of a slow collective construction, made of social consensus, political struggles, citizen and trade union struggles, democratic advances conquered of high struggle, interreligious and inter-ethnic cohabitation preserved by a cultural and social engineering, shared values; but also by the slow and patient construction of social and political institutions playing their role. It is one of these institutions – the cornerstone, the Constitution, of which you are the guardian and guarantor.
Mr. President of the Republic,
Your predecessors have each in their own way, despite the limitations of their mandates (and Wade’s abortive force), helped to strengthen Senegalese democracy by contributing their contribution to the difficult edifice. Yours, at this moment in our political history, is to take an act that will irreversibly make our nation a major democracy, which has definitively resolved the question of the peaceful transmission of power, and that of an alternation inscribed in its texts and especially in its practices and traditions. So that finally the elections become moments of debate on the destiny of the nation and more those of clouds big of risks, hovering over our heads.
When there will be demonstrations and unrest against a third mandate – and it is to be expected that there will be if you show up – because there is no reason for the Senegalese people to accept in 2024 what they had refused in 2012 (Remember that it was this refusal of the third term that Wade wanted that brought you to power in 2012); and that human lives will be lost, because you have overarmed the police and the gendarmerie. You will bear the responsibility. We expect you to announce that after being elected twice to the head of Senegal; that you will not run for office a third time in the presidential election; and that in doing so, you will respect your oath, that you restore to the Senegalese the honour they have bestowed upon you by entrusting to you their destiny for two terms, and that you consolidate and preserve our democracy.
POLITICS
SENEGAL Moussa Tine: “We launch a solemn appeal to the diaspora for the International Exhibition of Investment of the African Diaspora – SIDIA
Exclusive interview with Moussa Tine, the Director General of Urbanism and Habit. From September 26 to 28, 2025, at the Domaine de Choully, Africa – and particularly Senegal goes to meet its diaspora. For three days, the event will bring together several hundred entrepreneurs, including 30 from Senegal, investors, policy makers and artists. It is an unprecedented exhibition that brings together strategic sectors such as housing, agriculture, but also industry and commerce.
Why involve the diaspora and why organize this International Diaspora Investment Fair? Why this fair?
This exhibition today is a moment of exchange, an indispensable meeting point for government policy and particularly the policy of these three sectors, namely housing, construction, agriculture, industry and commerce. It is these three ministries that bring together their strategies, their strengths, to go out to meet the diaspora. The diaspora plays a decisive, extremely important role in the country’s economy and in its socio-economic stability. It is an important moment, a decisive moment, a moment that will also help us to financially complete a number of projects that are underway, but also to give the opportunity to the nationals of the diaspora to contribute to the development of their country. Each ministry today develops projects and this fair is an opportunity to give the diaspora the necessary information, either to integrate these projects or to collaborate with the State in the context of public-private partnerships or direct investments under the auspices of the State. Here is, in a global manner, the object of the exhibition. Today, this the exhibition is a decisive moment, an important one, with challenges defined across the three sectors I have just mentioned.
Thus, what is the economic weight of the diaspora?
The weight of the diaspora is well established. Today, it plays a decisive role in our economy. The diaspora is strong and economically involved, not only in a family way, but also through local and international initiatives. Therefore, involving the diaspora means redefining its role in a strategic way, which must no longer be limited to family support but contribute directly to the development of the country. This can be done through financial investment projects through programmes structured by the Ministry of Urban Planning, Local Authorities and Spatial Planning. I take the example of the PNALRU (National Program for Access to Housing), a project designed and led by the Ministry of Urbanism. We know that most of our fellow citizens in the diaspora have a house or housing project because they want to invest in their home. But often, they do not have the necessary information to do it in a secure way, nor quality support. Projects like the PNALRU offer a secure framework at the level of land, construction, but also marketing, in a transparent manner. These are projects that the State has implemented and which allow the diaspora to have easier access to land, and to participate directly in the national economy. The diaspora complains about not having enough information on state initiatives. This exhibition is a way to reach out to her, to provide as much information as possible about ongoing projects and integration modalities. We know that a part of the diaspora already has the initiative to return or to work in collaboration with the State. This show will therefore be a B2B meeting, a space where the diaspora and the State will be able to meet, establish collaborative relationships, and create what I often call a “return ticket”, that is to say an opportunity for many Senegalese to prepare for a secure and planned return.
Mr. Director, what is the direct message you send to the diaspora, especially to that of Geneva, because the exhibition will take place there?
Yes, the exhibition will be held in Geneva. This choice does not come by chance. Geneva is a financial capital and a business hub. Organizing it there highlights a decisive point in the outcome of projects: the financial dimension and the technical dimension. The objective is that from this exhibition, not only do we provide the necessary information to the diaspora, but also that we mobilize its capital to encourage it to invest in real estate, agriculture and industry. Each ministry will present development projects that the diaspora can appropriate, whether in housing, agriculture or industry. These sectors are linked: industry supports habitat, habitat needs building materials, and agriculture requires infrastructure. This sectoral transversality will allow for maximum opportunities to be created for the diaspora. In Geneva, for three days, we will have exchanges, panels, permanent exhibitions (more than 30 planned), and B2B meetings between the state, professionals, the diaspora, and the private sector. The aim is to mobilize investors, experts and promoters to implement joint projects.
Who are the partners of this project?
In Senegal, we have the Ministry of Urbanism, Territorial Collectivities and Spatial Planning, which leads, with the Ministries of Industry and Trade, and Agriculture as co-organizers. We also work in partnership with Me Events, a structure specialized in the organization of events, and with partners in Geneva, such as the African Village Association and Afrique Néon.
Mr. Director, to conclude, what message do you want to send to the Senegalese in the diaspora?
I take this opportunity to make a solemn appeal to all our fellow citizens of the diaspora. This exhibition is made for you. Its objective is clear: to mobilize the diaspora, not only for its expertise, but also for its investments. Invest in yourself. Invest in Senegal. Invest in Africa. This fair is yours, make it your own, and make it a channel for communication and development. The success of this exhibition will be the success of the national policy towards the diaspora. Senegal comes to you, your country comes to you, in order to discuss your projects and those we develop here. Come in large numbers, because together we can ensure inclusive development where every contribution counts. Thank you and I hope to see you very soon at the Geneva exhibition, from September 26 to 28.
Initially scheduled for Wednesday, June 11, 2025, the major march of the Democratic Party of Côte d’Ivoire – African Democratic Rally (PDCI-RDA), the main opposition party in Côte d’Ivoire, will finally take place on Saturday, June 14, 2025. This postponement was announced by the party’s Executive Secretary, who points out that the decision came after discussions between the PDCI leadership and the authorities of the Abidjan department. The details of these discussions have not been made public.
This demonstration, highly anticipated by the party’s activists and supporters, aims to support the candidacy of its president, Tidjane Thiam, in the presidential election of 2025, and to protest against his removal from the electoral list. A decision that the party qualifies as unfair and unacceptable, arguing for the right of all Ivorian citizens, including those with dual nationality, to participate in the political life of the country.
The route of the march remains unchanged: the protesters will leave from the SOCOCE space of the 2 Plateaux, in the municipality of Cocody, to head towards the headquarters of the Independent Electoral Commission (CEI). The party calls for a strong peaceful mobilization in order to convey a clear message: demand inclusive, transparent and peaceful elections.
The removal of Tidjane Thiam and other opposition figures is mainly based on the issue of dual nationality, a legal provision that continues to be debated as the election approaches. The PDCI, which sees in Thiam a rally candidate capable of unifying the Ivorians, intends to make this march a highlight of its campaign and its democratic fight.
Photo credit: Tidiane Thiam page
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Morissanda Kouyaté, received this Sunday, June 1, 2025 in Conakry a delegation from the African Union, on an official visit to Guinea. On this occasion, he reaffirmed the commitment of the transitional authorities to respect the deadlines set for the return to constitutional order, while stressing the historical and central role of Guinea in the construction of the Pan-African project.
« I am very happy. The African Union is at Guinea’s side to accompany and support the vision of the head of state, President Mamadi Doumbouya, in favor of Guinea and Africa, in the political, diplomatic, economic, and cultural fields, declared the head of Guinean diplomacy.
This meeting takes place in a context marked by the preparations for the constitutional referendum scheduled for next September 21.
Morissanda Kouyaté also recalled the founding involvement of Guinea in the creation of the Organization of African Unity, which became the African Union. “This visit materializes the commitment of the Peace and Security Council to accompany Guinea in a dynamic of ambitious political and diplomatic transformation,” he stressed.
The minister indicated that all actions related to the transition are currently funded by the national development budget, while calling for a broader mobilization of the international community. “We have requested a round table, called the Basketfront, to seek support to speed up the process. But this does not mean that we will give up,” he said, reiterating President Doumbouya’s willingness to scrupulously respect the scheduled deadlines.
He finally wanted to reassure on the efforts made to ensure an inclusive electoral process. “We are going through a difficult period, and that is why we want all Guineans to be registered in order to obtain a reliable electoral roll,” concluded Morissanda Kouyaté.
Source: guinee360 / Photo credit: Page Ministry of Foreign Affairs Guinea
