Senegal Faces Run-off Vote

A tight race is emerging in Senegal’s controversial presidential election between incumbent Abdoulaye Wade and former Prime Minister Macky Sall, unofficial results suggest.

Host Lisa Mullins gets the latest from Marco Werman in Senegal.

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Lisa Mullins: Now on to the Presidential vote in Senegal. The 85 year old incumbent, Abdoulaye Wade, is seeking a third term in office and that’s creating resentment. In fact, yesterday he was boo’ed at the polls. The World’s Marco Werman is in Dakar, Senegal. Is this perhaps, Marco, a sign of a healthy democracy, or something a little more ominous given the unrest leading up to the election?

Marco Werman: No, it is a sign of a healthy democracy, Lisa, in Africa most definitely. A Senegalese analyst and academic told me today, you know, most countries in Africa, if you had something bad to say about the president, you’d go to jail or worse, and these people saw President Wade arrive at the polling station yesterday when he went to vote, and boo’ed him. That’s pretty remarkable. Also, you know, I’ve been shocked to see some of the graffiti spray-painted around Dakar, lambasting President Wade, using the F word, another graffiti that said Wade equals Bagbo plus Mobutu, Gbagbo being the former head of Ivory Coast who lost an election in 2010 and wouldn’t leave power, and of course, Mobutu being Mobutu Sese Seko, the former head of Zaire. It felt like unfair comparisons given what happened to both Ivory Coast and Zaire, now Democratic Republic of Congo and Senegal, still a very peaceful place, but it shows how angry people are here with the man who’s not going away quietly after his two legal terms in office, and at the age of 85.

Mullins: So how overall did the vote go over the weekend?

Werman: It was amazing Lisa. It went calmly, it went peacefully. It was a contrast to what many people thought was going to happen, which was that Wade was going to claim instant victory and there were ominous warnings that Dakar was going to burn. I was in the elevator last night with an observer from Ecowas, that was the regional organization of countries, which was here to monitor the elections, and he told me there was more fear in the air than actual harm done. The turnout was relatively large and the scenes at the school and stadium polling stations I went to, people were waiting patiently in the sun and it was one of the hotter days in a couple of months yesterday, but women were there selling cold drinks and voters were in high spirits. People just seemed to take the responsibility very seriously, were patient, and turnout was over 60 percent I was told.

Mullins: So Marco, bring us up to date now. We understand the President, Abdoulaye Wade, spoke earlier in the day today. He said this election is going to go to a runoff. What’s the significance of that?

Werman: Well, the significance is that he seems to be showing that there is democracy in this country. He did poll about 32 percent, his nearest opponent polled 25 percent, but he did not claim that he got 50 percent or more, which is what would have been necessary for an instant victory. He also said at the press conference today that it is time for all his supporters to bring their full weight to bear on the runoff. He believes there are many more people out there who want him to be president for a third term, than voted, and I have spoken with a couple of people since that press conference who feel that plea alone is a bit worrying and they are uncertain of what it could mean in the future.

Mullins: So Marco, what was it that brought people out to the polls if they showed up in such large numbers?

Werman: Well, there was such a dramatic lead up to the vote. I mean that alone seemed to show the country that a lot was at stake. At least half a dozen people died in pre-election violence. That’s never happened in Senegal, so the drama itself I think really focused Senegalese on avoiding even a whiff of some dynastic rule of the presidential palace, but also the women and youth vote was very important it seemed. I went to the stadium where there was a polling station yesterday and spoke with a woman who had just voted. Her name is Anta Bo and Madame Bo said to me that what’s really important right now is that the youth take things into their own hands. She told me about this homeless children’s center that she’s been working at and she said it was totally paradoxical that in this time, not one of the 15 candidates running ever spoke about homeless kids, and that’s why she was not voting yesterday.

Mullins: All right, The World’s Marco Werman in Dakar, Senegal. Thank you very much Marco.

Werman: You’re very welcome Lisa.

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