Senegal legislative Campaign in 24 hours following fiery campaign

Senegal’s legislative election comes in 24 hours from today , Sunday July 29th 2017, following a heated campaign season ahead..

Tear gas filled the air in Dakar’s city center this week as police dispersed an opposition demonstration called by former president Abdoulaye Wade to denounce the organization of the upcoming election.

Wade’s return to the country to lead the main opposition coalition has been just one spark raising the temperature during this campaign period.

Another key political figure, the mayor of Dakar, is leading his “Manko Taxanu Senegal” coalition from prison. Khalifa Sall was arrested in March and charged with embezzling public funds. He demanded temporary release during the campaign period, but his request was rejected by the Supreme Court.

Supporters waited for the verdict outside the court. Mama Gueye, a coordinator for Ande Dollel Khalifa, a political movement supporting the mayor, was among them.

She said the verdict will not affect the “Manko” campaign. “We will continue the battle until he is released,” she said. “Our objective is to see him live and become the next president in 2019.”

There are 165 seats to be filled in the National Assembly, and voters on Sunday will choose from a record 47 lists, casting their ballots by party rather than for individual candidates.

Many see the vote as a sort of referendum on the current government of President Macky Sall and a preview of his potential challengers for the top job in 2019, although analysts say it is unlikely the ruling party will lose its majority in parliament.

In and around Dakar, supporters of Sall’s ‘Manko’ coalition have clashed several times with members of the president’s Benno Bokk Yaakaar coalition, which is led by the current prime minister.

Senegalese political analyst Aly Fary Ndiaye says the mayor’s coalition has made his continued detention work for them.

“It is a tactic to put pressure on the government,” he said, “to question the independence of the justice system and remind Senegalese citizens of the injustice [they say] Khalifa Sall is suffering,” Ndiaye said.