Senegal presidential race heats up, 20 candidates vie for top seat

In a significant development leading up to the February 25 presidential election, Senegal’s Constitutional Council finalized a list of 20 candidates. Notably absent from the roster are Ousmane Sonko, a jailed opposition leader, and Karim Wade, the son of former president Abdoulaye Wade.

The list boasts diverse contenders, including Prime Minister Amadou Ba, handpicked by President Macky Sall as his successor.

Other notable figures featured are former prime ministers Idrissa Seck and Mahammed Boun Abdallah Dionne, ex-mayor of Dakar Khalifa Sall, and Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar Faye, introduced as a substitute candidate for Sonko.

Faye, a 43-year-old member of Sonko’s dissolved party, currently detained, makes headlines due to his imprisonment since April 2023 on charges of “contempt of court” and “defamation against a corporate body.”

Ousmane Sonko, a prominent opposition figure with a fervent following among Senegal’s youth, faced rejection by the Constitutional Council due to a six-month suspended sentence for defamation. His exclusion adds to a prolonged confrontation with the state spanning over two years.

The electoral lineup is unprecedented in its diversity, featuring two women, gynaecologist Rose Wardini and entrepreneur Anta Babacar Ngom.

Constitutional lawyer Babacar Gueye noted that this marks the first time Senegal has seen such a crowded presidential race, contrasting it with the five candidates in the 2019 contest.

The exclusion of Karim Wade, denounced as “scandalous” and an “attack on democracy,” raises questions.

The Constitutional Council cited his dual French and Senegalese nationality as grounds for inadmissibility, despite Wade presenting evidence of renouncing his French citizenship.

As Senegal approaches its first presidential election without the participation of outgoing President Macky Sall, the race remains shrouded in uncertainty.

With just a month until the two-round election, the nation anticipates a pivotal political transition, further fueled by the absence of a re-election bid from Sall, who declared his decision in July 2022 after serving two terms since 2012.