“Upon the different forms of property, upon the social conditions of existence, rises an entire superstructure of distinct and peculiarly formed sentiments, illusions, modes of thought, and views of life” – Karl Marx

THE idea of democracy is rendered practical by the participation of the people in the process of election of their leaders and having a say in the running of their government. The lack of this inclusive aspect is what seems to be the problem with democratic practice in most of Africa. Democratic dispensations are made wholesome and given meaning by the availability of freedom to make choices. This facility or attribute is central to the concept of popular democracy, due to its significance in terms of affording the citizens the options to retain or change their leaders as they wish.

Elections, therefore, are the practical manifestations of the actualisation of the ideal of democracy and freedom of choice. Africa has long been a metaphor for dashed hopes and disappointed expectations. The several false starts and tentative inclinations towards the attainment of reasonable prospects of advancement, have been exasperated by the lackluster approach to governance and the determined improvement in the way our societies are organised. The perfunctory understanding of democracy and the misconception of the notions that have been associated with this form of government, such as freedom, duty, service, obligation etc, have left many Africans bewildered about the fate of political growth and maturity in the continent.

The fact that democracy is enlivened and fortified by the observance of rule of law rather than in the breach of it, seems to be lost on many of us, while we choose to expedite its demise by the enthusiastic embrace of nepotism and self-serving indulgence in the pursuit of ambitions that are inimical to order and justice. The abysmal specter of despondency and disappointment that menacingly glares across the face of the African continent, is somehow ameliorated and softened by the cheerful countenance that is presented by Senegal in its political progress and march along its destined path.

The resilience of democracy in Senegal is precisely because of the paramountcy that rule of law has been accorded in the country, and the habits of obedience and conformity that have been instilled in the population by practice and common sentiments of decency. Democracy is the beacon that has illuminated the path for Senegal since independence, thereby keeping the country on course in its progress towards maturity and respectability. Senegal is one of the two West African nations that have never experienced military coups in their history. The second nation is, of course, Cape Verde.

The march of democracy in Senegal contrasts sharply with the negative prospects that it is forced to face in other countries in the region. It has been truncated in Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso and lately Niger, while it is still under threatening clouds in some other countries of the region. The contrast in Senegal is due mainly to the ineffaceable feeling of pride that has marked the Senegalese temperament and sensitivity, which ultimately reinforces the sense of place and destiny in the national political culture.

Politics is played not in a transient fashion in Senegal, but in a transcendental manner that underpins both its philosophy and praxis, in a way that may seem alien to the average Nigerian to comprehend or appreciate. It was with this realisation, no doubt, that Senegalese went to the polls for the twelfth time to elect their fifth president on March 24, 2024. This came against the backdrop of a habitual democratic culture of peaceful transfer of power that has never been interrupted by military intrusion into politics, or any untoward change of government.

It was perhaps this tradition that rendered futile the attempt by the exiting president Mr. Macky Sall, to extend his tenure by seeking to postpone the elections by several weeks or months. His exertions were resisted by the population and ultimately repudiated by the country’s Constitutional Court, which is the final arbiter in such matters. This is also possible because democratic culture runs deep in the country which has a well established process of electioneering anchored upon years of constitutional rulings and an implicit respect for the rule of law and judicial pronouncements.

Widespread protests and general unrest since 2021 may have rocked the normally placid political space in Senegal, they did not however produce such egregious instability as to put into doubt the resilience of the democratic order in the country. On the contrary, they served to accentuate the importance of that system of government whose very strength lies in the ability to protest and dissent from the official view of things.

In Senegal, the processes leading up to the presidential elections usually commence with the collection of signatures of sponsors of the aspiring candidates and completion of the electoral register by all the aspirants. This is in compliance with the requirements that were set out by the country’s Direction Generale des Elections, DGE, and Constitutional Court, which stipulated that each aspirant should submit to the Court signatures of not less than 0.8 percent of the total number of registered voters that supported their candidacies. 

At the end of the exercise and after all the signatures of the sponsors have been duly verified, the candidates that have met the requirements are registered and cleared to stand for elections. The DGE, thereafter, releases the names of the contestants who are deemed to have met the requirements on sponsorship. Out of the 200 or so candidates that sought to contest in the 2024 presidential election, only 19 were ultimately cleared to stand. In exercising their prerogatives, the DGE and the Constitutional Court can rightfully disqualify any candidate on the basis of non-fulfillment of the requirements to stand for election.

In the 2024 exercise, two prominent opposition figures, namely: Mr. Ousmane Sonko, the leader of PASTEF, and Mr. Karim Wade, the leader of PDS and son of the former president Abdoulaye Wade, were barred from contesting, the latter being deemed to hold dual nationality status. Mr. Karim Wade was similarly disqualified and barred from contesting in 2019, alongside Mr. Khalifa Sall, one time Mayor of Dakar, following the second phase of the verification exercise which involved scrutiny of the aspirants’ tax and criminal records. This measure may seem strange and quixotic by the loose, malleable and elastic standards in Nigeria, but they are necessary in the dispensation in Senegal which have fortified the respect for rule of law and maintenance of the integrity of the electoral process.