Never before have four governments, including one of the regional leaders, Senegal, been simultaneously eager and ready to get out of the neo-colonial stranglehold of the CFA franc.
Bassirou Diomaye Faye.
Cem Ozdel/Anadolu via Getty Images
Douglas Yates, American Graduate School in Paris (AGS)
With the conduct of the 24 March elections, Senegal’s President Macky Sall appears to have saved his legacy.
Protesters barricade a street in reaction to postponement of the presidential election in Dakar, Senegal on 9 February.
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Amy Niang, Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa
Attempts to postpone Senegal’s election indefinitely reflect deeper governance problems within Macky Sall’s administration, and the shortcomings of his chosen heir, Amadou Ba.
A Senegalese gendarme stands near burning tyres during a protest in Dakar on 29 May 2023.
John Wessels/AFP via Getty images
Douglas Yates, American Graduate School in Paris (AGS)
Senegal is considered west Africa’s most stable democracy because it has never suffered a coup d'etat. But all its former presidents have attempted to extend their tenure of office.
Clashes erupted in Senegal following the sentencing of opposition leader Ousmane Sonko to two years in prison for “corrupting the youth” in June 2023.
Annika Hammerschlag/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
President Macky Sall’s previous ambiguity on a third-term bid, perception of a weaponised justice system and arbitrary detention of opposition are the drivers of political violence in Senegal.
Credit ratings are important for developing economies in Africa.
Wikimedia Commons
African states say a pan-African rating agency will enable them to access capital and integrate the continent with global financial markets.
Des électeurs sénégalais font la queue pour déposer leur bulletin de vote lors de l'élection présidentielle de 24 février 2019. Photo; EPA-EFE/NIC BOTHMA.
La présidentielle de 2024 s'annonce très disputée et représente un enjeu de taille pour les Sénégalais qui resteront les maîtres du jeu.
People wait in line outside their voting station in the popular neighbourhood of Ngor in Dakar on July 31, 2022.
Photo by JOHN WESSELS/AFP via Getty Images
Le Sénégal entre en territoire inconnu car, pour la première dans son histoire contemporaine, aucune coalition n'a obtenu la majorité absolue au Parlement.
President Macky Sall salutes supporters after he was named candidate for the 2012 presidential elections.
Photo by Seyllou/AFP via Getty Images
The G7 summit offered the most recent insights for Africa into how western nations are considering their stakes in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the impact that could have on developing nations.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky addresses a Security Council meeting on Russia’s invasion via a video link.
EPA-EFE/Peter Foley
The unwillingness of African governments to forge a unified position on the Russian invasion has damaged the credibility of their pan-African commitments.
As Senegal mourns the victims of the Demba Diop football stadium crush and searches for answers, it is to be hoped that lessons are learned, and consequences are swift.