A New President, a New Beginning: Senegal's Changing Political Situation

Senegal: President Describes 'Significant' Reform Agenda, Says Mali Must Be Reunited

Senegalese President Macky Sall

     
     Senegal has been labelled in the past as one of Africa's "most stable democracies" by the CIA, but it has not held on to this title with much ease in recent years. The previous Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade marred the government system and increasingly tried to pass constitutional amendments in his favor. The East African Leadership Index's "F-" score of Wade was not unprecedented; Wade was petitioning for yet another change to the constitution that would allow him to run for a third term. When Senegalese Presidential terms are 7 years, that means Wade had already been in office 14 years. Fears of a transition back to authoritarianism were felt across the nation, and protests ensued.

    Finally, we turn to what may be defined as a positive story emanating from Africa's western coast. One of the first agenda items that Sall states in this interview is an aim to "improve democratic governance." Within this category he aims to set the term limit at two, five-year terms, including his own term. Another goal, however lofty, is to institute a universal healthcare program for all Senegalese. Given the current issues with healthcare decisions in the U.S, I find this goal to be slightly less believable, but it is an honorable one nonetheless. He also hopes to institute more vocational training schools for youth, begin a Family Security Fund (which would give poor women the opportunity to vaccinate and enroll their children in school), and formulate a solution to the recent upheavals in Mali.

    After reading extensive accounts of the injustices of President Wade, Sall's words feel refreshing and, in some cases, like attainable goals. However, this is not to say that all of these propositions will come to fruition, especially given recent regional instability with the coup in Mali. President Sall has not yet been tested on his individual political ability (though he was Prime Minister under Wade for three years). Many African leaders have come and gone with similarly positive outlooks without being able to properly execute their plans, often simply due to infrastructural faults. As we discussed in class, sometimes government issues date back to regimes that were put in place following colonialism. Though Senegal experienced an authoritarian regime at its inception, it has since had democratic leaders and even elections that have been deemed "free and fair." Since 2001, Senegal has risen significantly on the Policy Scale from an anocratic regime to a democratic one. 

     Why is this particular issue relevant to the international community? This case is hopefully one of many to come where countries are breaking from authoritarian (or potentially authoritarian, like Wade) rulers in favor of more democratic regimes. This often does not come without difficulty and as cases like Egypt might suggest, these transitions come much more slowly than populations generally have patience for. The hope is that Senegal has, for the time being, dodged a bullet (figuratively or literally!) by the recent election of Macky Sall. 


Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/201209281572.html
Source: http://www.freedomhouse.org/country/senegal
Source: http://www.systemicpeace.org/polity/polity4.htm