Senegal’s president runs for office in a political race

Senegalese political groups are trying to get people to vote in a parliamentary election that will determine how much the new president can get his plans carried out. They are doing this with fireworks shows, packed meetings, and town-to-town caravans.

Government has been putting pressure on President Bassirou Diomaye Faye to keep the promises he made to fight corruption and make people’s lives better when he won a huge election victory in April.

A political expert named Mamadou Seck said, “This election has symbolic meaning.” “The critical challenge today is for Diomaye Faye to understand whether the people who elected him with 54% still support his program.”

In early October, the government revealed a big 25-year growth plan that Faye said would boost local industry, make the economy more diverse, and create jobs for the country’s rapidly growing population.

Most dangerous to Pastef’s plans is the sudden joining of Sall’s Alliance for the Republic (APR) and Wade’s Senegalese Democratic Party (PDS), which held 106 of the 165 seats in the previous national assembly.

That’s the first time Pastef has chosen to run without an alliance. Analyst Seck said, “It looks like they are testing their strength and influence.” He also warned that the party had brought in people who used to support Sall to try to boost support.

There are also two smaller opposition groups in the race. Former Prime Minister Amadou Ba and Barthelemy Dias, mayor of the city Dakar, lead these groups.

Faye said on national TV on Friday, “I wish all Senegalese and all political actors a peaceful and honorable election campaign, and I promise that… the best will win.”