AfricaNow! April 3, 2024 Post-Election Senegal Contextualized

Topic and Guests: At the inauguration ceremony in Dakar Senegal yesterday April 2, 2024, Bassirou Diomaye Faye of the young party African Patriots of Senegal for Work, Ethics and Fraternity or Patriots of Senegal (PASTEF) became the country’s fifth president.  On  March 24 Bassirou Diomaye Faye won the first round of the presidential election after receiving 54.28% of the votes.  Since Faye achieved over 50% of the votes a run-off was not needed.  The vote was originally scheduled to take place on February 25, 2024, but then-President Macky Sall—who could not run due to term limits—postponed the exercise initially indefinitely then the Senegalese National Assembly voted to postpone the election to December.  This was followed by the ruling by the Senegal Constitutional Council which stated that it was unlawful to postpone the scheduled presidential election.  This ruling and pressure from Senegalese forced then-President Macky Sall to announce on March 6 that the presidential election would be held on March 24.  

Today the show features conservations I had the day before the inauguration in Senegal with activist Muhammed Lamin Saidykhan, Head of Building Power Department at the Climate Action Network (CAN) International, and former Coordinator of Africans Rising; and youth activist Maurice Samba.   The show dissects the recent monumental presidential election of Bassirou Diomaye Faye of the African Patriots of Senegal for Work, Ethics and Fraternity (PASTEF) in Senegal.  The conversations highlight the role of the youth in the process; the changes in Senegal's political scene; sovereignty and the movement of removing France's economic control in Senegal and West Africa; Pan-Africanism and more.


MUSIC ON THE SHOW: intro & intro of Muhammed Lamin Saidykhan--“THE REVOLUTION WILL NOT BE TELEVISED” BY GIL SCOTT-HERON remembering his birthday April 1 (April 1, 1949—May 27, 2011; break--The Senegalese ensemble JALIKUNDA AFRICAN DRUMS; sign-off--“MAYIBUYE” HUGH MASEKELA commemorating his birthday April 4 (April 4, 1939–January 23, 2018) and Jazz Appreciation Month; closing song--“DIOMAYE MOOY SONKO” BY MAYA song was used in the presidential election.

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Originally broadcast on WPFW 89.3FM, Washington, DC. Tune into AfricaNow! live on WPFW 89.3 FM in the Washington, DC Metropolitan area or visit www.wpfwfm.org on Wednesdays from 1:00 to 2:00PM (U.S. Eastern).

Photo: People voting during Senegal's presidential election on March 24, 2024 courtesy of Maurice Samba.

AfricaNow! Apr. 3, 2024 Post-Election Senegal Contextualized

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AfricaNow! Apr. 3, 2024 Post-Election Senegal Contextualized

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