Election Day, the day that many fated to be the beginning or end of Senegal as we know it, has come and gone. I can’t tell you how many conversations I’ve had during the past year about the impending election – or rather, how many have not involved it. Even when I couldn’t understand what people were saying (which means my entire past all the way through the next few months), I would hear the name of Senegal's president peppered angrily or excitedly throughout the conversation. So duh, every conversation was less about Akon and more about POLITICS. Here is my understanding of the Senegalese Presidential Event Timeline during my service:
- March 2011: I arrive in Senegal! Abdoulaye Wade is the President. People say he might run again even though he has been the president for two terms already.
- June 2011: Adoulaye Wade announces some changes to the constitution, such as allowing someone with more than 25% of the vote to win a presidential election, and creating an electable position of Vice President. Wade proposes amendments. Everyone I talk to says he’s crazy, but they do worry that he will make his son the Vice President and then die in office, making his son President without a vote.
- September 2011: The amendments come to a vote before a Constitutional Court that he chose. People worry that the laws will pass! They don’t want them to pass! They have demonstrations! They do not pass.
- January 2012: Adoulaye announces that he is running for a third term fo’ sho! He says he was elected before the constitution included term limits, so he can do what he wants! People are angry. People protest, especially in Dakar!
- February 2012: Continued reports of protests around the country and in Dakar. Photos show the country aflame!
Speaking of flames, if you’ve been paying attention to international news, you have probably been seeing photos like these:
Or these:
I know these photos, along with predictions of threats/violence/coups and daily commentary by journalists have been worrying some of you, especially given that I, someone you love (or someone you don’t know whose blog you stumbled upon during web surfing in Turkey), could be stuck in the middle of all of this dangerous mess. While I am not undermining the seriousness of many protests around the country and the ability for danger to happen spontaneously, let me reassure you that the Senegal of the media is very different from my Senegal. As another perspective, here is my personal timeline, supplemented by anecdotes from my Senegalese friends:
- March 2011: I arrive in Senegal. Abdoulaye Wade is President. Everyone I meet talks about how he is too old to be President and might be over 150. Their words, not mine.
- June 2011: I spend days hearing about riots but attending work conferences, eating fatayas and drinking Fanta. I fail to see one dangerously angry person the whole month. At one point, I travel to Tamba and get my first disease, making biological warfare my greatest worry.
- September 2011: The amendments do not pass. The people of Senegal take solace in the rationality of their Constitutional Court. I do things like go to Girls’ Camp and get attacked by bugs.
- January 2012: A strike confines me to my home! But it is a taxi driver strike.
- January 2012: My host mom hosts a very peaceful luncheon in support of her candidate. The guests clean up after themselves and leave me with a good impression.
- January 2012: I wait for riots after Wade announces his candidacy. Instead of being angry, my family brings me a slice of mango after dinner as though it is just another night.
- January 2012: Someone tries to punch me in the face as I ride my bike to work. The next day someone throws dirt at me. I don’t think it is related to the election.
- February 2012: While waiting for a bus, I accidentally find myself at a political rally of 12 people. Everyone is very calm, quiet, and respectful. They support my effort to catch a bus.
- February 2012: I see one burning tire in Kaolack as I drive by in a taxi. The tire is unattended and no one seems to be paying any attention to it. I am not sure if it is the symbol of a protest or just a tire that caught fire.
So despite my personal lack of inflammatory experiences, I still waited with bated breath for election day. Senegal’s election day falls on a Sunday, which makes sense to me. In America, we vote on Tuesday, because everyone is probably working and can hit the local poll by their home. In Senegal, people work in faraway places and return to their homes on the weekend, so Sunday works better. On that note, my usually bustling city was a ghost town on election weekend. Apparently no one is actually FROM Thies. For all of the buildup, Election Day was quite literally the absolute quietest day I have ever experienced in Senegal. But maybe protests would happen after?
I arrived home after the polls closed at 6pm to find my teenage sisters with their ears feverishly set against the radio, pen and notebooks in hand, writing down the results. I was surprised that the results seemed to be coming in so quickly... until I realized which results were on the radio. Stations were reading off EVERY. SINGLE. POLLING. STATION. IN SENEGAL. Which meant for about 12 hours, on every radio and television channel, we heard things like this:
Abdoulaye Wade – 42
Macky Sall – 56
Moustapha Niasse – 23
Idy Seck – 17
10 other candidates, read off one by one – 0-2
I had originally thought these were percentages. But no. They were specific votes. All eventually adding up to about 5 million, without anyone ever interjecting things like running totals or general trends. It all made me a little nostalgic for the fancy graphics and tickers of America, the color coding, the projections, the drama of Florida et all. Also, for 12 hours, the theme song for Chariots of Fire played in the background of every mass media outlet. That's what happens when people don't police faraway countries about licensing rights. Entire countries use your orchestral, 80s movie score as the theme song not for a candidate, not for an election, but for THE FEELING OF DEMOCRACY FOR AN ENTIRE COUNTRY.
So yes, as of now, results are still being tabulated, but by all accounts, it looks like no one hit 50% to win outright. Instead, the drama will continue for 3 more weeks until a run-off election between President Wade (who led the primary with somewhere around 30%) and Macky Sall (who had about 25% from what I can gather). Some people think that this second election will be what sets it off. Maybe Wade will win and the people will protest, accusing him of fraud or bribing voters. Maybe Macky will win, but Wade will refuse to give up his position, leading to craziness. Or maybe the election results will be respected much in the way they were this past Sunday. Time will tell.
The press will continue to theorize about impending disaster or success, trying to account for all of the conflicting viewpoints around Senegal: the angry mobs and demonstrations, but also the people in the faraway places who seldom vote and see the election as inconsequential. As for me, as for the moment, I find myself agreeing – and wanting to agree – with the words of my most trusted Senegalese confidante here:
“Will we turn into Cote d’Ivoire? Will there be uprisings like Guinea? It could happen. But Senegal loves peace more than democracy. Even if things do not go well, the people prefer their lives to violence.”
And as for her voting prediction?
“Anyone but Wade. Every single person who voted for a candidate other than Wade or Macky will now vote for Macky. No one will swing to Wade. No one.”
So while the images you see and the reports you hear about uprisings and violence are undoubtedly true, also know that my reality is true too: it is quiet, it is rational, and it just hopes it all works out. Also know that Peace Corps is willing to do anything to save me, including the use of helicopters if need be.
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