Forcing pour bâtir un destin présidentiel à Sonko (Par Alioune Badara COULIBALY)
Disaster!
The National Assembly has adopted a reform of the electoral code paving the way for Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko to run in the 2029 presidential election. The text in question amends Articles L29 and L30, notably allowing citizens convicted of certain offenses to participate in elections. Last Friday, Speaker Bassirou Diomaye decided to send the law back for a second reading. This decision was motivated by the existence of two different versions of the text adopted by the members of parliament during the session of April 28, 2026. All of this clearly demonstrates the dividing line between the Diomaye President coalition (loyal to the Head of State) and the APTE coalition (favorable to the Prime Minister). The urgent task for democrats in this country is now to block both coalitions currently in power in order to resume the victorious path that President Macky Sall had set for Senegal.
Regarding the Prime Minister, whose candidacy in 2029 is the source of this dispute at the highest levels of government, we remain convinced that nothing in his background, nothing in his career, and certainly nothing in his personal history or culture, prepares him for the office of President of the Republic. Yet, they are attempting to force his destiny by weighing his personal future against that of our country. This is a recipe for disaster. The future of an entire nation cannot be determined by linking it to that of one man. This demonstrates the utter contempt that APTE and Pastef can show for the Senegalese people. In this affair, they are treated as less than nothing, as people incapable of thinking for themselves and making their own choices. The rise of Bassirou Diomaye Faye in 2024 finally roused the people from their complacency. They now understand that managing a state and a country is no laughing matter. It is a serious affair requiring competence and experience. Despite what some may think, we are raising here, with clarity and realism, a debate that must be central to the implementation and deployment of any political project.
This issue considers that, beyond the vision which remains the very foundation of any political project, the doctrine formulated to give meaning to this vision, the ideology developed to justify it, and the practical application implemented to make it concrete, there is something else equally fundamental in such an implementation. It concerns the statesmanlike posture that Presidents Senghor, Diouf, Wade, and Sall possessed to leave their mark on the nation. This crucial element, unfortunately, is lacking in both Diomaye and Sonko. While before coming to power, Sonko possessed a natural leadership that resonated with the people, this myth has definitively crumbled due to his inability to improve the lives of citizens. They have become convinced of his lack of political acumen and his powerlessness to drive government action. Sonko today projects the image of a whiny Prime Minister, blaming internal enemies and his predecessors rather than proposing concrete solutions.
This is what casts doubt on his ability to define a clear direction for the country and logically disqualifies him from aspiring to the highest office. When one observes him, almost always huddled behind his cronies, his mechanical majority in Parliament, carrying him on his shoulders, trying to impose him on the Senegalese people, one wonders how this man, who often displays the mannerisms of a spoiled child, could ever exercise dynamic leadership.
It would, nonetheless, be suicidal for democrats opposed to the APTE coalition's project to believe that it will never succeed. Just because Diomaye Président's dissidents are swimming against the tide of history doesn't mean we should be naive and let our guard down. Those who want to see this project through have gained an advantage over the opposition. They have been working on it for months and are using every means at their disposal to achieve this goal. Let us redouble our vigilance and imagination to force them to capitulate. We, the democrats, have a distinct advantage over them: they are psychologically fragile, and therefore not at ease, because they know their project is not just, much less hopeful. They may, however, be reckless, even extremely violent, in their determination to defeat us. Nevertheless, united, we, the democrats of Senegal, will triumph.
Alioune Badara COULIBALY
APR Spokesperson
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