On the Election in Senegal
Featured image: Bassirou Diomaye Faye got a majority of the votes in the 2024 presidential election in Senegal. Source: Reuters
We have previously reported on clashes in Senegal after the parliament on the 5th of February decided to postpone the presidential elections originally scheduled for the 25th of February. In the clashes the “security forces” murdered three protesters, including a 16-year-old who was shot in the head.
On the 6th of March the postponement of the election was overruled, and it was decided that the election had to take place before the 2nd of April, the end of the term of the current President of Senegal, Macky Sall. Sall accepted the decision and announced that the election would be held on the 24th of March.
The election resulted in favor of Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who received 54.28% of the votes. Sall has already conceded and congratulated Faye.
Imperialist institutions, such as the The Royal Institute of International Affairs of British imperialism, has hailed the election as a “critical victory” for Senegalese democracy and a “national turning point”, as well as important for the stability in West Africa. However, only 61% of those registered to vote participated in the election. This is down from the voter turnout of 66% in the last presidential election in Senegal in 2019. There were also several candidates who were not allowed to run, including Ousmane Sonko, who got more than 15% present of the votes in the 2019 election, and Karim Wade, who got more than 34% of the votes in the 2012 election.
