I am going to try and make this entry as non-political as possible and just informative about the current situation in Senegal as I am neither a political scientist nor at the front lines of what is going on, plus part of the Peace Corps and thus I cannot be politically involved in anything. Nothing whatsoever.
So as you all know, 2011 has already been a heck of a year for dictators, tyrants, and long-standing presidents in the Middle East and North Africa. From January on (ok December if you look on wikipedia), we've watched as the Arab Spring, with the help of Twitter and Facebook, has unseated many of those in power while others are barely hanging on by a thread (and using their last bits of power to unhinge the entire country and tumble into civil war).
The Arab Spring has made dictators and other "Big Men" the world over nervous for what could happen in their countries and Senegal is no different. The President, Monsieur Abdoulaye Wade, was elected in 2000 in a remarkably peaceful transition of power known as the Alternance. He served a 7 year term and then a 5 year term (the Constitution was changed to make 5 years the term) and announced a few months back that he was going to run in the next election on February 26, 2012. This has been a very controversial announcement as Senegal has a 2 term max for president, but Wade and his party has announced that since the Constitution was changed to make 5 years the standard term, Wade has only served one 5 year term and is thus eligible for a second 5 year term. This was met with anger and protests by a country that increasingly sees the President as corrupt, too old and ill to run a country, and completely out of touch with his people. People are upset about constant energy cuts, the high cost of living, and the way the infrastructure in the rest of the country suffers so that Dakar can have a new mall, movie theater, and the African Renaissance statue, among other things. [I have a lot of personal comments and thoughts here, but I will keep those off the record.]
April 4, 2011 was Independence Day (51 years from France!) and Wade also used it as a huge celebration of the Alternance to try and regain some support in the face of the Arab Spring. It didn't go as well as he had hoped and after he decided to divide up some of the local government structures and de-seat leaders who are not part of his party [enough here, inappropriate comments are on the tip of my tongue]. Anyways, in another play, he introduced a new bill to the Assemblee Nationale to create the seat of Vice President and change the mandate to be elected president without a run-off from 50% of the popular vote to 25% [yea, I know...]. Both of these measures were widely viewed as attempts to guarantee his victory in February 2012 and then place his son in the position of VP (he is already a "super minister"), and met with anger and frustration in streets in cities across the country. For weeks, Senegalese have talked about nothing else, and yesterday, as the ammendment to the Constitution was announced, all hell broke loose.
Dakar, in pictures
These pictures are kind of intense, but I promise that Peace Corps and the US Embassy knows what they are doing and are keeping us informed with text messages and are following the procedures we are all briefed on during PST. We are told to avoid crowds and downtown areas, and we do! Yesterday I just stayed in my office while protests and other things happened downtown. Plan also followed safety procedures to avoid the crowds and demonstrators, and protect it's property, and everyone is fine. Wade quickly removed the 25% electoral need from the bill, but people still protested the VP position (since Senegal is based off of the French system, they do not need a VP and instead the presidency passes to the head of the Senate until elections can be organized). The altered ammendment did not pass and there was a collective sigh of relief across the country as people walked around listening to the radio and gathered around TVs to listen to the follow-up political commentary. This has been regarded as "a victory for democracy" in that the leaders saw the reactions of the masses (the opposition, civil society, and religious leaders, not to mention other nervous governments) and responded in their favor.
Things have calmed down a little, but Wade is expected to address the country today and no one quite knows what he will say or what the reaction is. We were all told to avoid Dakar, so I have had a last-minute change to my weekend plans and need to find something else to do this weekend. Don't worry, we are all safe and accounted for :)
BBC Info
Synthese, en français
I realize that the US is mostly unaware of what is going on in Senegal and I may be unnecessarily worrying those who would have never heard anything about this. The story is on the front page of rfi.fr but on BBC you have to click on the Africa page to get anything, and it's nowhere to be found on the Washington Post or Chicago Trib. I am just trying to share a bit about Senegal with the handful of readers I have out there.
On verra.
So as you all know, 2011 has already been a heck of a year for dictators, tyrants, and long-standing presidents in the Middle East and North Africa. From January on (ok December if you look on wikipedia), we've watched as the Arab Spring, with the help of Twitter and Facebook, has unseated many of those in power while others are barely hanging on by a thread (and using their last bits of power to unhinge the entire country and tumble into civil war).
The Arab Spring has made dictators and other "Big Men" the world over nervous for what could happen in their countries and Senegal is no different. The President, Monsieur Abdoulaye Wade, was elected in 2000 in a remarkably peaceful transition of power known as the Alternance. He served a 7 year term and then a 5 year term (the Constitution was changed to make 5 years the term) and announced a few months back that he was going to run in the next election on February 26, 2012. This has been a very controversial announcement as Senegal has a 2 term max for president, but Wade and his party has announced that since the Constitution was changed to make 5 years the standard term, Wade has only served one 5 year term and is thus eligible for a second 5 year term. This was met with anger and protests by a country that increasingly sees the President as corrupt, too old and ill to run a country, and completely out of touch with his people. People are upset about constant energy cuts, the high cost of living, and the way the infrastructure in the rest of the country suffers so that Dakar can have a new mall, movie theater, and the African Renaissance statue, among other things. [I have a lot of personal comments and thoughts here, but I will keep those off the record.]
April 4, 2011 was Independence Day (51 years from France!) and Wade also used it as a huge celebration of the Alternance to try and regain some support in the face of the Arab Spring. It didn't go as well as he had hoped and after he decided to divide up some of the local government structures and de-seat leaders who are not part of his party [enough here, inappropriate comments are on the tip of my tongue]. Anyways, in another play, he introduced a new bill to the Assemblee Nationale to create the seat of Vice President and change the mandate to be elected president without a run-off from 50% of the popular vote to 25% [yea, I know...]. Both of these measures were widely viewed as attempts to guarantee his victory in February 2012 and then place his son in the position of VP (he is already a "super minister"), and met with anger and frustration in streets in cities across the country. For weeks, Senegalese have talked about nothing else, and yesterday, as the ammendment to the Constitution was announced, all hell broke loose.
Dakar, in pictures
These pictures are kind of intense, but I promise that Peace Corps and the US Embassy knows what they are doing and are keeping us informed with text messages and are following the procedures we are all briefed on during PST. We are told to avoid crowds and downtown areas, and we do! Yesterday I just stayed in my office while protests and other things happened downtown. Plan also followed safety procedures to avoid the crowds and demonstrators, and protect it's property, and everyone is fine. Wade quickly removed the 25% electoral need from the bill, but people still protested the VP position (since Senegal is based off of the French system, they do not need a VP and instead the presidency passes to the head of the Senate until elections can be organized). The altered ammendment did not pass and there was a collective sigh of relief across the country as people walked around listening to the radio and gathered around TVs to listen to the follow-up political commentary. This has been regarded as "a victory for democracy" in that the leaders saw the reactions of the masses (the opposition, civil society, and religious leaders, not to mention other nervous governments) and responded in their favor.
Things have calmed down a little, but Wade is expected to address the country today and no one quite knows what he will say or what the reaction is. We were all told to avoid Dakar, so I have had a last-minute change to my weekend plans and need to find something else to do this weekend. Don't worry, we are all safe and accounted for :)
BBC Info
Synthese, en français
I realize that the US is mostly unaware of what is going on in Senegal and I may be unnecessarily worrying those who would have never heard anything about this. The story is on the front page of rfi.fr but on BBC you have to click on the Africa page to get anything, and it's nowhere to be found on the Washington Post or Chicago Trib. I am just trying to share a bit about Senegal with the handful of readers I have out there.
On verra.
1 commentaire:
Definitely something really interesting to live through. Thank you for sharing, I only know of Senegal what you have told me, and that a change was coming when the rulers of other countries were going to fall. I hope that the people continue to protest, since it is a democracy, and the president did not go through with the crazy 25% policy (what? I mean really!). Please update your bloggers on further developments, and definitely stay safe.
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