Such a tragic end to Mr. Sal's career is even more perplexing considering he had very good intentions at the beginning. In April 2012, two weeks after taking the oath of office, he announced his decision to shorten the presidential term from seven to five years from France's Elysée Palace. The change was ultimately upheld in a referendum and applied to the second term rather than the first, but Sall appeared to respect his words. But his shenanigans in recent weeks suggest that even this dream was too big for him after all.
He is the fourth president to hold office since independence, and the first to be often referred to as a dictator. Is he one of them too? Considering, for example, the genocide perpetrated by Chad's Mahamat Idriss Deby regime, the answer is no. However, I am well aware that this kind of comparison not only solves nothing, but is also quite dangerous. Countries should be judged based on their own history, and it would be very sad to find ourselves congratulating ourselves on the fact that there are fewer bodies on the streets of Dakar than on the streets of N'Djamena.
Nevertheless, the man who vowed in April 2015 to all but eliminate opposition has shown himself to be increasingly authoritarian and violent over the past three years. Sall turned opposition leader Ousmane Sonko into a mythical figure by demonizing and imprisoning him, then brutally suppressed all demonstrations in support of him. Security forces have killed at least 40 young protesters since March 2021, when Sonko was arrested. As a precaution, the government jailed 1,000 activists, including another opposition leader, Bashir Diomai Fay. No credible reports of torture were investigated.
This provides collateral for many of Mr. Sal's ultimately unsuccessful attempts to outstay his welcome. His detractors hope he will be prosecuted by international justice, but in the current world, that seems unlikely. But Senegal's civil society may demand that whoever succeeds Mr. Sall be held accountable for his actions. A new amnesty law passed by Congress in early March could be important here. Both Sonko and his political candidate Fay were released under the law, which provides amnesty for acts committed in connection with the political unrest since March 2021. But many fear it could also be used to protect security forces and, of course, Mr. Sall himself.
So far, the Constitutional Council has succeeded in calming the situation, but Senegal's Democratic Party should not immediately celebrate victory. The worst-case scenario, in which the results are challenged and violently suppressed protests amid threats of military involvement or foreign interference, remains a possibility. Even if the election goes smoothly, it is difficult to imagine that some prominent figures in the president's camp would allow the incoming administration to be held accountable without a major reaction. There is a good chance that further difficulties may lie ahead.
