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Senegal
Change, please!
DEMOCRACY
Why did Abdou Diouf lose the presidential
elections?
The following are some reasons for such a bitter failure
Few visitors to Africa can fail to be impressed by the sheer size and strength of the baobab tree. That’s why Senegal’s former president, Abdou Diouf was likened to a baobab tree. The baobab tree also figures on the country’s coat of arms — a symbol of 40 years of independence in unity and strength. But what has happened? The «tree» was thought to be firmly entrenched but has suddenly come uprooted in an unexpected way. With the result that Senegal is heading for change. Nothing will be as before.
Yes, change is in the offing. Abdou Diouf, in office as President since 1981, has lost the election — defeated by his old rival, Lawyer Abdoulaye Wade. Change was the key word for both sides in the election campaign and the two candidates never stopped using the word. But what happened? The new-found «change» means a complete break with what went before, not «change-within-continuity» (as Diouf was hoping). It was indeed a hunger for «sopi» — meaning «change» in the Wolof language — which ended Diouf’s rule.
After 40 years of uninterrupted reign, the Socialist Party (PS) has finally been driven out of power. Change has now come about, following twenty-six years of hammering at the gates of power by Abdoulaye Wade of the Senegalese Democratic Party (PDS). He’s been at it with obstinacy, tenacity and determination. Thus, for the first time in Senegal’s history, the «one-party democracy» has given in. This is a further sign of Senegal’s political maturity, and follows in the footsteps of other countries in the sub-region which have accepted new governments. «A breath of fresh air» and «a new look» are now the order of the day!
Reasons for failure
Why did Diouf lose in such a way? His defeat can at best be described as pitiful and humiliating. Diouf received 41.21% of the votes as against Wade’s 58.68% (Provisional figures). The outgoing president didn’t do much better in the first round of elections (41.30%). Several reasons are given.
1. The Diouf regime fell victim to the population’s call for transparency in the elections. The people were adamant that everything had to be open and above-board. The Senegalese made their position clear, as they had too often been victims of vote-rigging in the past. This demand for transparency was to be the hallmark of the year 2000 presidential elections. The international community was apprehensive concerning electoral transparency and made its viewpoint felt. The situation was serious, so much so, that without a clear commitment to transparency, the presidential elections were likely to set Senegal ablaze, thus discrediting and banishing democracy forever from the country. Senegal’s financial backers (i.e. its donors) also required a «clear commitment to democracy», so even more pressure was put on the government to conduct free and open elections. Transparency thus became an indispensable stipulation.
2. For the ordinary person in the street, the vote was something to be valued and cherished. There was no longer room for double-dealing, and election results had to be respected. There was a change in people’s way of thinking — the vote is important — it means the citizen can have a say in the way he/she is governed and can play a positive role in the life of the country. The Socialist Party came to understand this, but too late. There was no way the party could bargain.
3. Then there was the strong determination of an emerging civil society which was becoming a force to be reckoned with, by playing an effective role in the electoral process. The independent press, also made a decisive contribution, acting as a catalyst in the democratic process. These were new forces, major elements in the new Senegal which is so soon to take shape.
4. Bad governance was also to be hauled over the coals. The way in which the country’s assets were being administered was unrelentingly condemned. Members of the administration were quite capable of lining their own pockets and were in a position to ensure that the PS kept its privileged position. Thus guaranteeing its members power, influence, riches and immunity — to the detriment of the rest of the population living in ever-increasing miserable circumstances. Corruption completed the picture of blackening Senegal’s reputation.
5. Consequently, there was no way in which Senegal’s immediate social needs could be tackled. The number of those living on the margins of society, those whom society rejected, the poor, had to bear the consequences. Poverty was to be the lot of two-thirds of the population and unemployment was increasing at a vertiginous rate. 25% of the working population was unemployed and 100,000 young people were arriving each year on the job market — competing for scarcely ten thousand vacancies.
6. The outgoing President was never close to his people. He remained shut in his ivory tower, insensitive to the needs of the majority of Senegalese. And when the second ballot came round, and Diouf appealed for his fellow-countrymen’s votes, any attempt to «become one of the boys» was too late. His appeals fell on deaf ears. His appeals couldn’t save him.
7. Any promises made by Mr. Abdou Diouf were treated with contempt and did nothing to enhance the image of the outgoing President.
8. The way in which power was used had a lot to play in Diouf’s downfall. Outmoded in its ideas and concepts, the PS was heading for rejection, the more so because of the upswing of young people who constituted a great part of the electorate. Also, most of the urban electorate (57% of the total) failed to support the PS. Forty years of PS rule and twenty years of Diouf rule were too much! And Mr Abdou Diouf failed to read the signs of the times. He hadn’t realised that people had had enough of him and his party — that it was time for change.
9. An electoral alliance with Mr Djibo Kâ of the Union for Democratic Renewal (URD) failed to bring the expected results. Arithmetically, this alliance should have increased Mr. Diouf’s total to at least 48% of the electorate, but his score was pretty well the same as for the first round of elections. What had happened? The turn-around by the URD had caused a split within URD ranks, so much so, that not all the URD supporters voted for Diouf.
10. The traditional «ndigueul» (instructions from the Muslim religious authorities to vote for a particular party) which were expected to come from two influential marabouts (in past elections this has made a significant difference to way people voted), failed to materialize. Also, there have been substantial changes within the Senegalese Muslim Brotherhoods and this had an effect on the election results.
That’s why the PS bit the dust.
A new era
Diouf’s fall from office came as a surprise; some people likened it to an earthquake. But the gains to Senegal from the point of view of democracy, are enormous. On 19 March 2000, a new page in the country’s history was written — and hopefully an era rich in promise has opened. The ability to accept change is sure sign of any country’s growing maturity. For Senegal, it is our dearest wish that the new era will usher in civil peace, new-found hope (of great importance to Senegal, but, alas, far too rare in recent years!), the emergence of new values and the will to work heart and soul for our country’s well-being.
Alain Agboton, Senegal, March 2000 — © Reproduction authorised, with usual acknowledgment
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