- 19 Candidates, including ex-PMs Jostle for the top Seat!
By Abiola Olawale
Former Chief of Staff to former president Muhammadu Buhari and a former United Nations (UN)Under-Secretary-General (political), Professor Ibrahim Gambari, has been appointed to lead a 120-member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Election Observation Mission (EOM) to monitor Senegal’s Presidential election, which has been rescheduled to take place on March 24th, 2024.
This was contained in a press release issued on Tuesday by the commission.
In the statement, ECOWAS announced that Gambari, who had previously served as Nigeria’s foreign Affairs Minister between 1984-1985 as well as Nigeria’s permanent Representative to the United Nations from 1990 to 1999, and has been appointed to lead the ECOWAS mission comprising 14 Long-Term Observers (LTOs), to Senegal ahead of its presidential election. These LTOs are experts in various fields, including constitutional and electoral laws, election operations, conflict management and prevention, political analysis, gender and inclusivity, and the media.
According to the statement, a group of election observers will be deployed this week to monitor the upcoming presidential election, which features 19 candidates, including one woman. The release further noted that the group will be joined by 106 short-term observers from March 18th. According to ECOWAS “these observers are drawn from various organizations, including the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Electoral Commissions of the ECOWAS Member States, the ECOWAS Council of the Wise, the ECOWAS Parliament and Community Court of Justice, and Civil Society organizations in the region.”
The New Diplomat reports that a total of 93 people are registered to run for the office president before the Senegalese Constitutional Council. The list of candidates was however narrowed down as the body examined the sponsorship of would-be candidates until 10 January 2024 before moving on to scrutinize other relevant documents and documentation. Many candidates were rejected due to missing documents, insufficient sponsors, or sponsors supporting more than one candidate, including former prime ministers Aminata Toure and Cheikh Hadjibou Soumaré, as well as Macky Sall’s brother-in-law Adama Faye. This prompted Toure and 27 other candidates to collectively criticize the sponsorship control system.
It would be recalled that on January 20th, the Senegalese Constitutional Council published the final list of candidates for the presidential election. It was made up of 20 candidates including Ba, former prime ministers Idrissa Seck and Mahammed Boun Abdallah Dionne, the former mayor of Dakar Khalifa Sall, and Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who is still in prison pending a trial. Two women were also cleared to run, namely gynecologist Rose Wardini and entrepreneur Anta Babacar Ngom, the head of one of the country’s largest food manufacturers, Sedima.
On 28 January, Sonko released a video on social media formally recognizing Bassirou Diomaye Faye as his replacement in the election.
On 19 February, Rose Wardini renounced her candidacy following controversy over her dual Franco-Senegalese nationality.
Below is the full list of the 19 candidates jostling for the top seat in Senegal;
Pope Djibril Fall – 35 years old
Anta Babacar Ngom – 40 years old
Bassirou Diomaye Faye – 43 years old
Déthié Fall – 48 years old
Daouda Ndiaye – 50 years old
Cheikh Tidiane Dièye – 51 years old
Mame Boye Diao – 53 years old
Serigne Mboup – 57 years old
Aly Ngouille Ndiaye – 59 years old
Thierno Alassane Sall – 60 years old
Malick Gackou – 62 years old
Amadou Ba – 62 years old
Aliou Mamadou Dia – 64 years old
Mamadou Lamine Diallo – 64 years old
Idrissa Seck – 64 years old
Mahammed Boun Abdallah Dionne – 65 years old
Boubacar Camara – 65 years old
Habib Sy – 67 years old
Khalifa Ababacar Sall – 68
