He was the central figure in an election in which he was not running, a shadow hanging over a ballot that was essentially a referendum on his record as Senegal's leader. Macky Sall may have ruled out a bid for a third term in July 2023, but many in his own camp see him as primarily responsible for Amadou Ba's defeat. Ba, his former prime minister whom he had chosen to succeed him, was defeated in the March 24 election by Bassirou Diomaye Faye, a political novice who was also fresh out of prison.
Whether out of loyalty or fear, criticism of the "omnipresident" has been muted. He is still head of the Alliance Pour la République (APR) party and the coalition that has dominated the country's National Assembly for the past 12 years. But, now that his reign as leader is over, people are starting to talk – and take a long, hard look at his legacy.
"The president has played against his own camp," choked an official from one of the party's national sections, still dazed by the tidal wave that swept away their candidate Ba. "On paper, this election was locked in. We had the state institutions, the money, the steamroller of our coalition and a glowing record. Why would he sabotage our candidate, even though he chose him?"
Since the beginning of February and the election's postponement, initially set for the 25th of that month, the presidential camp has seemed to be navigating without a compass, baffled by Sall's actions. Why, 10 days before the election, did he release his most virulent opponent Ousmane Sonko from prison, along with Sonko's second-in-command, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, under an amnesty law that he created? Why did he never appear alongside his candidate at rallies? "Macky Sall is totally responsible for our debacle. He never had a single word of encouragement for Amadou Ba in public. Was it so difficult to say to the Senegalese: 'I'm proud of him! Vote for him!'?" lamented Ibrahima, an activist we met at APR headquarters.
Ba is a technocrat who was minister of the economy and finance and then minister of foreign affairs before becoming prime minister. He was endorsed by Sall in September to represent the coalition: It was a choice made with the head, not the heart, given that Sall would have preferred Abdoulaye Daouda Diallo, his trusted adviser at the head of the Economic, Social and Environmental Council, or his former prime minister Mahammed Boun Abdallah Dionne.
As soon as the president's decision was announced, it sparked the resentment of those who had failed to win and marked the beginning of the designated successor's descent into hell. Publicly attacked by certain members of the majority who felt that his lack of charisma and popularity made him unfit to win the election, Ba took the blows meted out to him by people close to the president and said nothing, thanking Sall on every official occasion for "his confidence."
You have 63.38% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.