By Lamin Sesay
I was very much impressed with the way the Senegalese people displayed their loyalty to the country they so loved and cherished; a country that has never known any political crises and classed as one of the most stable democracies in Africa.
The country gained Independence from France on 4th April, 1960. The veteran poet and writer, Leopold Sedar Senghor ushered them to Independence and ruled the country from 6th September, 1960 to 31st December, 1980.
After the demise of Leopold Sedar Senghor in 1980, Abdou Diouf took over the presidency from 1st January, 1981 to 2000. He ruled on his two term mandate and handed over power to Abdoulaye Wade on 1st April, 2000. He too ruled on his two term mandate and handed over power to Macky Sall on 2nd April, 2012. There was relative peace and stability in that country, and the economy boomed and massive infrastructural developments took place during the preceding years after they attained Independence from France.
It was Macky Sall, the outgoing president who had wanted to bend the rules of their constitution by prolonging the elections to December 2024, after his mandate expired this April. His thirst for power engulfed him so much that he decided to detain the two most popular opposition figures in the political arena of that peaceful country, in the persons of Bassirou Diomaye Faye, the current President, and Ousmane Sonko, the newly chosen Prime Minister.
This did not go down well with the citizens as they knew their rights were about to be trampled upon. They took to the streets, everybody, including all human rights activists and civil society organisations.
After three days of street battles between the security forces and the citizens, and the intervention of the African Union and ECOWAS, the president reversed his decision and called for early elections. But before the announcement of the elections date, he released from detention the current President Bassirou Diomaye Faye. The elections were conducted on Sunday, 24th March, 2024.
The International Foundation for Electoral Systems (I F E S) was the chief observer of those elections. They were conducted in a free, fair and transparent manner. At the end of the tallying and tabulation of results, Mr. Bassirou Diomaye Faye, the 44 year old young man who had just been released from detention in ten days, was declared the winner on a first ballot.
LESSONS WE ARE TO LEARN FROM THOSE TWO ELECTIONS AS SIERRA LEONENEANS.
Thank God our president was there to witness the swearing in ceremony of that young man, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who had taken up the mantle of leadership of Senegal. It was not an inauguration, but merely a swearing in ceremony that attracted many heads of state and other international dignitaries that wanted to see democracy thrive in many parts of the world. The question of whether our president was invited there or not does not matter here. He went there to see and make some comparisons about how electoral systems are undertaken in other countries within the sub-region where democracy and the rule of law hold firm in their pursuit for a challenging global awareness.
After our much disputed and discredited elections of 24th June, 2023, we were fortunate to witness another peaceful and transparent election in our neighbouring country Liberia. The incumbent, George Opong Weah, who was very popular among the youth of that country because of his love for them and the structures he had put in place to develop the youth, made them to buy his ideology in his campaign manifesto.
A man who had won the World’s Best and Ballon d’or, and African Best Player in 1995, lost the elections to Joseph Boakai, the ageing man who had served Liberia as Vice -President under President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. The elections ended in a run off and Mr. Joseph Boakai was declared the winner in Africa’s oldest democracy and the first country to attain Independence from the United States on 26th July, 1847. The first President of the Republic of Liberia was Joseph Jenkins Roberts, an American born individual who ruled from 1848 to 1856.
For 133 years, the country had been governed by Americo–Liberians, also known as the Kongos, the equivalent of the Creoles in Sierra Leone. It was Sgt. Samuel Kanyon Doe that broke that dynasty as the first indigene to rule the country after he overthrew and murdered President William Tolbert on 12th April, 1980. He ruled Liberia until Charles Taylor started the insurgency with his rebel movement the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) in December 1989.
Samuel Doe was captured and executed by Prince Johnson’s rebel outfit, The Independent National Patriotic Front of Liberia (INPFL) which had parted company with Charles Taylor on 9th December, 1990. Charles Taylor was elected president of Liberia in 1997. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was elected the 24th President of Liberia on 23rd November, 2005, the first ever woman to hold that position in Africa. She ruled from 2006, after her inauguration, until when she lost the elections to George Opong Weah in 2018 and handed over power to him. George Opong Weah ruled the country for one term from 2018 to 2023. When he lost the runoff elections to Joseph Boakai, on 19th November, 2023, George Weah in wisdom and love for his country admonished his supporters and sympathisers to accept the result as they reflect the will of the Liberian people.
Again our president was there to witness the inauguration of Mr. Joseph Boakai as the 26th President of the Republic of Liberia. In all of these appearances, witnessing other presidential inaugurations and swearing in ceremonies of presidents in other parts of the continent, it is interesting to ask who among his colleague African heads of state who were truly elected by the will of the people, has ever congratulated him?
Not to my knowledge!
(THERE IS FOOD FOR THOUGHT HERE,THAT, AS A LISTENING AND CARING PRESIDENT WHO WOULD NOT LIKE TO SEE HIS PEOPLE CONTINUE TO SUFFER SO MUCH FROM ECONOMIC DEGRADATION AND HARSH CONDITIONS OF LIVING, WOULD USE HIS GOOD SENSE OF REASONING AND DO THE NEEDFUL!)
To me, he has learnt a lot from those two engagements, taking cognizance of George Opong Weah, a man who had set accolades in football and crowned all the laurels in the game. He conceded defeat and handed over power graciously, and now living a life of a statesman.
LET ME END THIS PIECE WITH A PRAYER FOR OUR PRESIDENT: Loving Father, I Come Before You With A Heart Full Of Remorse For Our President. He Has Been Misguided By People He Relied Upon To Give Him Good Advice And Guide Him Towards Building A Peaceful And Cohesive Nation; Where We All Can See Our Selves As Brothers And Sisters Living Under The Umbrella Of Unity Freedom And Justice. Heavenly Father, Create In Him A Clean Heart O God, And Renew A Right Spirit Within Him. Cast Him Not Away From Thy Presence And Take Not Thy Holy Spirit From Him. Restore Unto Him The Joy Of Thy Salvation, And Uphold Him With Thy Free Spirit, AMEN Psalm 51: 10-12.
With Your Divine Intervention O Lord, Our Nation Will Be Redeemed From This Frustrating Democracy. GOD SAVE THIS NATION!