Aminata Faye, a 22-year-old college student, eagerly awaited the opposition politician who had inspired her at a stadium in Senegal. She had been urging her friends and family to vote for a major change of government in the upcoming presidential election. The election has been a nail-biting run-up, with the incumbent president, Macky Sall, calling off the election last month, only to agree to hold it after all. The release of the pugnacious opposition figure, Ousmane Sonko, from jail has left many Senegalese relieved that the election is happening at all.
The election, which takes place on Sunday, is seen as a chance to overhaul the political and economic order in Senegal. While there are 19 candidates in all, many experts think the election will go to a runoff between Mr. Faye and the governing party candidate, Prime Minister Amadou Ba. Thousands of young people are supporting Mr. Sonko, whose name is not even on the ballot.
The campaigning has happened at a breakneck pace, and during Ramadan, when most people in this predominantly Muslim country fast during the day. At night, political convoys rushed through the sandy alleyways of Dakar, the coastal capital, pumping out music and slogans and distributing fliers. Posters bearing politicians’ beaming faces were hastily pasted up on roadside billboards.
Senegal, observers say, is different from its neighbors, as it has never had a coup d’état. The country’s powerful Sufi brotherhoods — Muslim communities guided by spiritual leaders — have helped maintain stability.
2024-03-24 04:47:22
Original from www.nytimes.com