Senegal has just made a real break by electing Bassirou Diomaye Faye as President of the Republic who, eleven days before the election, was still languishing in prison, and who, a few months earlier, was completely unknown to the majority of Senegalese people. Why then did the majority of Senegalese voters vote for him? Because she wanted to get rid of the power of President Macky Sall and everything that embodied him. But beyond the power of Mr. Sall, it is the entire system that he represents that these voters wanted to see leave the Senegalese political scene. Mr. Bassirou Diomaye Faye's party, the African Patriots of Senegal for Work, Ethics and Fraternity (PASTEF), wanted to be the party of rupture, the anti-system party. Its credo is the fight against corruption, bad governance, pan-Africanism, the sovereignty of Senegal over its destiny. The victory in the first round of this almost unknown, with such a difference in votes between him and his opponents, shows the extent of the Senegalese desire to change course, and the challenges he faces.
The first of these challenges, which was not planned in the program, will be the management of his relationship with his mentor, Ousmane Sonko. It is indeed because the latter, leader of the Pastef party and true idol of young Senegalese, was unable to run in the presidential election, that he asked Diomaye Faye, his second in command within their party, to replace it. And if the latter was elected, it is thanks to Sonko’s aura. How will the two men manage power? What position could Diomaye Faye give to his leader so as not to appear ungrateful? Prime Minister ? Vice president? A big ministry? Many people will not fail to whisper in his ear that supreme power is never shared, and that there has always been only one captain on board a ship, especially that of the State... Will Ousmane Sonko long resist the temptation to regularly let Bassirou Diomaye Faye and all Senegalese know that it is thanks to him that his friend gained supreme power, that he owes him an eternal debt of acknowledgement ? In Burkina Faso, we saw very close friends killing each other for power. In Niger, Mahamadou Issoufou gave way to his foe Mohamed Bazoum when he found himself unable to run for president again. Bazoum was overthrown by the military and many observers strongly suspect Issoufou of being the hand that activated the putschists. In Africa, a king never cohabits with the one who made him king. Ousmane Sonko and Bassirou Diomaye Faye are intelligent and certainly know African political science. Let's hope they know how to manage their relationships under the test of power without leading to a crisis.
Bassirou Diomaye Faye’s second challenge, and which is not the least, is that of youth employment. He is aware that the majority of people who elected him are young people who hope that he will give them work so that they will no longer be obliged to embark on canoes, risking their lives, to to seek a better future in Europe. How can we satisfy them? Bassirou Diomaye Faye's party sought power to fight corruption, better redistribute the country's resources and give work to young people. Which presidential candidate in any African country does not make the same promises? The real challenge is being able to keep these promises in the face of the reality of the country's real power and resources.
Diomaye Faye's last challenge will be that of breaking up. How far will she go? Pastef wants to be pan-African, sovereignist and left-wing. Will Diomaye Faye's Senegal be tempted by the adventure of the Sahel countries of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger? Will it go so far as to break with its traditional allies in the Western world, namely France and the United States, to put itself under the umbrella of Russia? Will it remain in ECOWAS and the UEMOA monetary zone?
Patience. Let Bassirou Diomaye Faye put on his role as president. We will have time to know how and to which shores he will take his ship.
By Venance Konan
*This article has been translated from French into English by Marcus Boni Teiga
