DAKAR, May 25 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Senegal&#8217;s president and African Union chairman Macky Sall said on Wednesday that when he visits Russia and Ukraine in the coming weeks he will push them to unblock exports of grains and fertilizer to avoid widespread famine.



Africa is suffering from disruptions in food supply and soaring prices of basic goods and risks &#8220;disastrous consequences&#8221; if the situation endures, Sall said during a conversation with philanthropist Mo Ibrahim at the Ibrahim Governance Forum.



Nearly half of Africa&#8217;s 54 countries rely on Russia and Ukraine for wheat imports, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. Russia is also a major supplier of fertilizer to at least 11 countries.<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL5N2WV5UH&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



&#8220;We have pleaded for a ceasefire, for an end to the war and for the release of all food products &#8230; so that the world doesn&#8217;t know a famine after two years of COVID and almost three months of war,&#8221; said Sall. Russia invaded Ukraine in late February.



&#8220;There are multiple initiatives to call on countries that have (grain) stocks to liberate them &#8230; and to ensure that Russia can authorize the export of cereals from Ukraine and can also export itself. This is the African position,&#8221; he said.



Parts of Africa are already facing record hunger levels, driven by insecurity, climate shocks and the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.L5N2W23Z3



If food supply blockages were to continue and there was a famine, Sall said: &#8220;The world would not be able to contain the consequences because it would be massive on immigration. It would be dramatic for African countries.&#8221;



Sall said on Sunday he would visit Moscow and Kyiv in his capacity as chairman of the African Union, which wants peace in Ukraine through dialogue between the two sides.<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL5N2XE0BP&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



(Reporting by Bate Felix; Writing by Nellie Peyton; editing by Grant McCool)

grains

African Union head to push Russia, Ukraine to unblock grain exports￼

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Ratings agency Fitch has revised the outlook on Kenya’s B+ sovereign ratings to negative from stable, while affirming the rating. And the Financial Times reported that Senegal President Macky Sall, in an interview, disclosed that oil and gas projects in the country could be delayed by up to two years due to COVID-19. Ridle Markus, Africa Strategist, Absa Corporate and Investment Banking joins CNBC Africa for more.

Fitch revises Kenya’s B+ rating to negative from stable

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Ahead of the ongoing Transformers Summit Senegal 2019, CNBC Africa&#8217;s Godfrey Mutizwa spoke to President of Senegal, Macky Sall and President of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), Bandar Hajjar to discuss plans for Senegal to become an emerging market by 2035.

Transformers Summit: President Sall

Transformers Summit: President Sall, Hajjar of IsDB on Africa’s development goals & challenges

By <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/maurice-soudieck-dione-831524">Maurice Soudieck Dione</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/universite-gaston-berger-3991">Université Gaston Berger</a>

Earlier this year Senegal’s president, Macky Sall, embarked on his second term as president <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2019/04/senegal-macky-sall-starts-term-call-dialogue-190402170119221.html">pledging</a> “constructive” dialogue with the opposition. This followed tense elections in which Sall was <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-47400711">accused</a> of preventing some of his main rivals from running.

In principle, political dialogue is essential. But in Senegal it’s often used as a way to manipulate public opinion and provide breathing space for a government under fire for its authoritarian tactics.

Throughout Sall’s tenure it has given cover to multiple encroachments on Senegalese democracy. This includes <a href="https://www.jeuneafrique.com/791019/politique/senegal-controverse-apres-le-desaveu-de-lue-sur-le-systeme-des-parrainages/">tampering with the rules of the electoral system</a>, empty promises of dialogue and violations of the <a href="https://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2018/04/19/au-senegal-une-manifestation-reprimee-l-ancien-premier-ministre-idrissa-seck-interpelle_5287772_3212.html">rights and freedoms of the opposition and government opponents</a>.

These tactics threaten national cohesion, progress and stability in the country. 

<h2>Broken promises</h2>

On taking office in 2012, President Sall cast aside a charter of structural reforms for national governance, the <a href="http://www.assisesnationales.org/?ans=doc">National Conferences Charter</a>, that he himself had signed. 

He also backtracked on his <a href="https://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2016/02/17/macky-sall-ira-finalement-jusqu-au-bout-de-son-mandat-de-sept-ans_4866925_3212.html">oft-repeated</a> <a href="https://www.voaafrique.com/a/senegal-president-senegalais-renonce-a-reduire-son-mandat-en-cours/3193669.html">commitment to reduce his term in office</a> from seven to five years. 

Then, despite opposition and in a very short timeframe, in March 2016 he organised a <a href="https://www.pressafrik.com/Referendum-du-20-mars-C-est-parti-pour-sept-jours-de-campagne_a147321.html">constitutional referendum.</a>. 

But the proposed changes – which would have led to the balance of power being distributed more evenly, thus <a href="https://www.financialafrik.com/2018/08/03/senegal-une-exception-democratique-a-lepreuve-de-lhyper-presidentialisme/">streamlining</a> the country’s extremely top-heavy political system – failed to generate a strong consensus. In the end, no serious reforms <a href="https://fr.allafrica.com/stories/201711220787.html">were ever implemented</a> that would temper the president’s political, legal and institutional supremacy over executive and judicial power. 

<h2>Opposition persecution</h2>

As a way to demonstrate his commitment to inclusive government, Sall then <a href="http://www.chinafrica.cn/The_Latest_Headlines/201605/t20160520_800057264.html">launched a</a> national dialogue on May 28 – the day after the referendum. This brought together representatives of the political class, civil society, the private sector, trade unions and religious and traditional leaders. Some members of the opposition took part in good faith. 

The talks led to the quick release, <a href="https://www.jeuneafrique.com/336456/politique/senegal-gracie-macky-sall-karim-wade-parti-qatar/">through presidential pardon</a>, of Karim Wade, the son and former minister of ex-President Abdoulaye Wade. 

But Wade’s release shouldn’t be interpreted as signalling that the dialogue initiative was effective. 

A year earlier, Wade had been <a href="https://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2015/03/23/senegal-karim-wade-condamne-a-six-ans-de-prison_4599445_3212.html">sentenced to six years in prison</a> for mis-appropriation of funds, by a special anti-corruption court. Established in 1981, and revived by Sall in 2012 after a long period of dormancy, the special court has been <a href="https://www.fidh.org/fr/regions/afrique/senegal/15499-senegal-la-crei-une-juridiction-d-exception-qui-ne-garantit-pas-le-droit-a">heavily criticised</a>.

The <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/FR/Issues/Detention/Pages/WGADIndex.aspx">UN stated</a> that <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/FR/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=16997&amp;LangID=F">Wade’s imprisonment was arbitrary</a> and the West African States Community Court of Justice <a href="https://www.jeuneafrique.com/172087/politique/enrichissement-illicite-la-cedeao-recadre-dakar/">found that</a> constitutionally, as a former minister, he should have been brought before the Senegalese High Court of Justice. 

Sall therefore had no choice but to free Wade. But he also clearly took this opportunity to force Wade – a strong contender in the presidential elections – into <a href="http://www.rfi.fr/afrique/20180114-senegal-avenir-s-assombrit-karim-wade">exile</a> in Qatar. 

Khalifa Sall – then mayor of Dakar and another leading opposition contender – was then arrested in 2017 for allegedly embezzling US$3 million in public funds. Critics accused Macky Sall of making up the charges to remove him. Khalifa <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-49873340">was released</a> on a presidential pardon last month. 

Sall’s government has also continued its authoritarian tactics with <a href="http://www.rfi.fr/afrique/20140420-senegal-interdictions-manifestations-multiplient-dakar-libert%C3%A9s-publiques-macky-sall">systematic bans on opposition protests</a>.

Furthermore, Sall’s promise to institutionalise political dialogue failed to materialise: there was just one round of talks during his first term. 

<h2>Crisis of confidence</h2>

Parliamentary elections, held in July 2017, are seen to have contributed to the crisis facing the country. There were accusations of <a href="https://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2017/07/30/au-senegal-les-elections-legislatives-se-sont-deroulees-dans-une-relative-confusion_5166696_3212.html">major irregularities</a>. And after the chaotic elections Sall <a href="https://fr.allafrica.com/stories/201901020554.html">refused</a> the opposition’s request for a non-partisan Minister of the Interior. The position is meant to be free of party affiliation, as it had been for <a href="https://www.lequotidien.sn/deces-du-general-lamine-cisse-fin-de-mission-dun-soldat/">about</a> 20 years. 

Sall then <a href="https://www.jeuneafrique.com/mag/560940/politique/senegal-les-parrainages-de-la-discorde/">pushed through a reform introducing electoral sponsoring, without consultation</a>. This requires all candidates standing in presidential elections to collect the signatures of at least 1% of the registered voters before being validated. This made it much harder for candidates to run.

<a href="https://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2018/04/19/senegal-la-loi-sur-le-parrainage-votee-dans-un-climat-de-forte-contestation_5287952_3212.html">Opposition protests were subject to crackdowns</a> and their leaders were arrested. 

This new sponsoring law proved to be a boon to the government during the 2019 presidential elections because it limited the number of candidates. 

Candidates <a href="https://www.lepoint.fr/afrique/senegal-nous-voulons-des-elections-fiables-30-12-2018-2282538_3826.php">did not have access to the electoral roll</a> to confirm the validity of their sponsor signatures and thousands of sponsor signatures were invalidated on the false claim that they were not registered to vote. <a href="https://www.jeuneafrique.com/698797/politique/presidentielle-au-senegal-pourquoi-19-dossiers-de-parrainage-ont-ete-ecartes/">As many as 19 electoral hopefuls had their applications rejected</a> by the Constitutional Council. In the end <a href="https://www.bbc.com/afrique/monde-46863956">only five candidates were able to run</a>.



Today national dialogue is at a standstill, and it’s not surprising given the political manoeuvring that undermines it. This presents a worrying future scenario for Senegal. 

Translated from the French by Alice Heathwood for Fast ForWord.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/124380/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important" />

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/maurice-soudieck-dione-831524">Maurice Soudieck Dione</a>, Enseignant-chercheur en sciences politiques, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/universite-gaston-berger-3991">Université Gaston Berger</a>

This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/senegals-president-uses-political-manoeuvres-to-mask-authoritarian-tactics-124380">original article</a>.

Is Senegal’s president using political manoeuvres to mask authoritarian tactics ?

By Francois Conradie, Head of Research at NKC African Economics



On
Monday, January 14, the Constitutional Council published the final list of
candidates for the presidential election to be held on February 24. 



Only
five contenders are on it, all men: President Macky Sall, running on the
platform of his coalition Benno Bokk Yaakar (BBY); Issa Sall of the Party of
Unity and Coming Together (PUIR); Ousmane Sonko of the Patriots of Senegal for
Work, Ethics and Brotherhood (Pastef); Madické Niang of the Senegalese
Democratic Party (PDS); and Idrissa Seck of Rewmi. 



Notably
absent are Khalifa Sall of the Socialist Party (PS), a former mayor of Dakar
who is serving a jail sentence for illicit enrichment, and Karim Wade, son of
former President Abdoulaye Wade and the official candidate of the PDS. 



Khalifa
Sall (no relation to the president) is ineligible because of his conviction,
and Mr Wade of the same reason, over a conviction for illicit enrichment in
2015. President Sall subsequently pardoned him and he is currently living in
Qatar; he is liable to pay a huge fine should he return to Senegal.



Issa
Sall and Mr Sonko are somewhat marginal figures, although the latter’s campaign
is interesting for its use of social media and suspicions that he is close to
Islamist currents in Senegal. 



Mr
Niang, a former minister, will pull votes from some PDS supporters, but many
others will follow the party leadership’s injunction to boycott. 



Thus
the strongest challenger to the president is Mr Seck. 



The
two men have much in common: they were born two years apart (Mr Seck is the
elder), both joined former President Wade’s PDS, and both served as his prime
minister. 



Mr
Seck split from the PDS in 2006, two years after being sacked as prime
minister. Both ran against the elder Mr Wade when he insisted in the face of
strong popular opposition to run for a third term in 2012. In the first round
of that election Macky Sall got 26.6% of the vote and Mr Seck 7.9%, so Mr Seck
then backed his rival in the second round, when he won.



The
exclusion of Khalifa Sall and Mr Wade had been expected since a change to the
electoral law, which was clearly made in order to keep them specifically out of
the race. 



The
former Dakar mayor at one point looked like a serious challenger to the
president, and we think his trial and conviction had a political angle to them.




With
the list of candidates being what it is, and the BBY coalition having a strong
presence across the country, we see very little chance of President Sall losing
the race.

Why Macky Sall’s strongest challengers won’t run for Senegal’s presidential elections

At least hundreds of Senegalese voters were prevented from casting their ballots in parliamentary elections on Sunday because of delays in issuing identity cards, voters and officials said.
In an embarrassing turn for one of West Africa&#8217;s most stable democracies, voters were left off voting lists at polling stations or told they did not have the right documents to vote.
Opposition leaders have criticised President Macky Sall for trying to stamp out political opposition in a contentious campaign.
Political demonstrations in Dakar are routinely halted by a heavy police presence and the liberal use of tear gas. And Khalifa Sall, the popular mayor of the capital, Dakar, and one of Sall&#8217;s main competitors, was jailed in March for embezzling public funds, charges that Sall says are politically motivated.
The central problem in Sunday&#8217;s vote was the delay in issuing biometric identity cards. Interior Minister Abdulaye Daoudada Diallo said early last week that 30 percent of the cards had still had not been distributed.
That caused an outcry from opposition politicians and voters who had spent weeks trying to obtain the new cards so they could vote. Sall asked the constitutional council to let voters use their card registration receipts and passports.
But voters at a polling station in the Point E area of Dakar found that those documents were not enough.
&#8220;I was registered in the list to vote, but I don&#8217;t have my up-to-date voting card, so I can&#8217;t exercise my right to vote,&#8221; said Imam Diallo, a 20-year-old footballer who had his I.D. card registration receipt.
About 10 others said they were unable to vote for the same reason. Local radio stations said that thousands of Senegalese were turned away.
&#8220;What happened is a shame for a country like Senegal that has been voting since 1848,&#8221; said Abdoulaye Wade, the 91-year-old former President and opposition candidate, who had returned from France to take part in the elections.
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Serigne Babacar Kane, Dakar&#8217;s top administrative prefect, told Reuters that voters needed to get their registration receipts verified and stamped by local officials beforehand, though many said they were unaware of this. He was unable to say how many people could not vote.
President Sall, who has prided himself on advancing transparency and stable, progressive democracy in Senegal since his election victory in 2012, welcomed the &#8220;smooth running&#8221; of the elections, he said, after casting his vote on Sunday.
&#8220;I hope that people will vote calmly and return home calmly,&#8221; he said.
<div class="Attribution_attribution_o4ojT" data-reactid="43">
Reporting By Diadie Ba and Cheikh Mane, writing by Edward McAllister, editing by Larry King
</div>

Macky Sall

African Union head to push Russia, Ukraine to unblock grain exports

Fitch revises Kenya’s B+ rating to negative from stable

Transformers Summit: President Sall, Hajjar of IsDB on Africa’s development goals & challenges

Is Senegal’s president using political manoeuvres to mask authoritarian tactics ?

Why Macky Sall’s strongest challengers won’t run for Senegal’s presidential elections

Senegal parliamentary elections marred by voting problems

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Macky Sall

African Union head to push Russia, Ukraine to unblock grain exports￼

Fitch revises Kenya’s B+ rating to negative from stable

Transformers Summit: President Sall, Hajjar of IsDB on Africa’s development goals & challenges

Is Senegal’s president using political manoeuvres to mask authoritarian tactics ?

Why Macky Sall’s strongest challengers won’t run for Senegal’s presidential elections

Senegal parliamentary elections marred by voting problems

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