Senegal has been experiencing political tensions for several months. To calm the nerves, the former mayor of Dakar Pape Diop finds it urgent to move quickly towards the dialogue to which the Head of State, Macky Sall, calls during his speech to the nation on April 3, 2023. It intends to use its relations with political actors to bring together power and opposition around a consultation table.
Concerns are high. Pope Diop is concerned about the current socio-political tension that is taking on alarming proportions in Senegal. To preserve peace and stability in the country, the president of the Democratic Convergence Bokk Gis-Gis finds it urgent to renew the thread of dialogue between all the living forces of the Nation. In his message of April 3 to the Nation, the President of the Republic Macky Sall expressed the desire for a dialogue between actors. We all have a duty to work on this so that our country can return to the spirit of dialogue that has always made its reputation», said Pope Diop.
The boss of Bokk Gis-Gis intends to use his good relations with all political actors to help regain the dynamic of consultation that has long prevailed between power and opposition. His conviction is that the spirit of communion, sharing, solidarity and forgiveness that has animated the people throughout this month of Ramadan must be preserved so that Senegal is spared the jolts that some predict. It is the place for the deputy Pope Diop to pay homage to the religious guides, whose prayers accompany the Senegalese and allow until then to preserve Senegal from the turmoil experienced or experienced by other countries.
We are preparing to butcher a month of fasting, abstinence and religious fervor. The peculiarity of this year’s Ramadan is that we not only observed it in unison as Muslims, but it also coincided, in part, with Christian Lent. It is an eloquent proof that each of us can live freely and fully our faith, whatever our beliefs, without preventing our neighbour from doing the same», Pope Diop stresses.
For Pope Diop, what unites the Senegalese is stronger than what divides them. He invites the Senegalese to bear in mind that “neither the quest for power nor its preservation can justify jeopardizing the country’s stability.” The leader of Bokk Gis-Gis says that it is a stable, united and indivisible Senegal, a country with a strong social fabric and strong institutions that we must bequeath to future generations.
He points out that this is the reason for the action he took in the wake of the legislative elections on 31 July 2022 when he joined the parliamentary group Benno Bokk Yaakaar. According to him, the objective was to avoid the hysterization of the political game being transposed at the level of the Assembly with all the risks that could result on the governance of the country and on the proper functioning of the institutions. For him, today, the facts proved him right with the many incidents that occurred in the Hemicycle and that unfortunately led to the imprisonment of two deputies, notably Mamadou Niang and Massata Samb, of the Unity and Assembly Party (Pur).
Concerned about the image and proper functioning of this august institution (National Assembly) which I had the honour of presiding over, I was greatly saddened by these unfortunate and very regrettable incidents. I am confident that by building on the strengths that have always enabled us to get through the most difficult times without much damage to the country, we will be able to preserve the essential, namely: social cohesion, which has always been an exception in Senegal», did he indicate.
