In the wake of the Dakar mayoral election held on August 25, 2025, the Taxawu Senegaal coalition clarified its position in the face of accusations that it was responsible for its camp's defeat. In a lengthy statement, the movement led by Barthélémy Dias denounced "political manipulation" and called for "ethics and responsibility" in the management of public affairs.

A crisis born from the dismissal of Barthélémy Dias

It all began on December 11, 2024, when the administrative authority arbitrarily declared Barthélémy Dias's resignation from his duties as mayor of Dakar. Taxawu Senegaal says he immediately began a "political and legal" battle to restore his leader's rights.

But a dramatic turn of events occurred on August 16, 2025: the prefect ordered the convening of the Municipal Council for the election of a new mayor, on the instructions of the Minister of Local Authorities. The coalition deemed the decision hasty, pointing out that the Supreme Court is due to rule on the case on September 18.

The contested choice of Ngoné Mbengue

In this context, Taxawu Senegaal had opted for a compromise strategy: to present the candidacy of the current interim mayor, Ngoné Mbengue, in order to preserve the seat pending the court's verdict. According to the press release, this choice had been validated by Barthélémy Dias himself, who saw in Ms. Mbengue a long-time ally and beneficiary of the jurisprudence of Soham El Wardini, the first woman to lead the City of Dakar.

However, on the eve of the election, the Taxawu leader changed course. He then proposed the candidacy of his deputy, Pathé Ba, before calling at the last minute for a boycott of the vote. This about-face was something the movement's leadership said it did not endorse, believing it was not based on any legal or political guarantees.

A quorum largely reached despite the boycott

The facts support this analysis, Taxawu insists. Indeed, the Municipal Council recorded a record turnout of 88 voters, including five proxies. With 49 votes from Pastef and 9 from PUR, the required quorum (51 councilors) was largely exceeded. "The boycott could not prevent the regular conduct of the election," the coalition emphasizes.

“Three lessons” from defeat

Taxawu Senegaal draws three major lessons from this episode:

• A moral lesson, which calls for respect for one's word;

• A political lesson, which requires consistency and solidarity in choices;

• A lesson in ethics, which calls for loyalty in collective commitment and the refusal of compromise.

The movement also accuses part of the opposition of having "betrayed the common ideal" by getting closer to power or engaging in opportunistic calculations, thus opening the way for Pastef to strengthen its hold on the Municipal Council.

“A war of ideas, not of grand gestures”

In conclusion, Taxawu Senegaal reaffirms his "unwavering" position in the opposition and calls for greater calm in the political debate. "If politics is a war, it is a war of ideas in truth," the statement insists, as if to invite his allies and adversaries to refocus the confrontation on the substantive issues rather than on tactical maneuvers.