AfricTivistes and the African Union’s Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC) organised a virtual solidarity session on 12 June to inform African CSOs and citizens about the political crisis that has been unfolding in Senegal since March 2021. Several of the recommendations made during this online panel are being taken into account  by the African Union (AU) organs and recently the Panel of the Wise called on the Senegalese government to work towards consolidating the country’s democratic gains.

Between June and July 2023, major demonstrations, some of them brutal, resulted in 16 deaths according to official figures, and Thirty four (34) deaths in Senegal according to figures from the citizens’ initiative Cartogra Free Sénégal, which brings together journalists, cartographers and data analysts.

It all started at the beginning of June, when demonstrations broke out following the verdict sentencing opposition leader Ousmane Sonko of the Patriotes du Sénégal pour l’Éthique, le Travail et la Fraternité (PASTEF) party to two years in prison for “corrupting youth”. The verdict, considered by some Senegalese as an attempt to remove him from the political landscape, provoked a large-scale mobilisation, especially among young people.

In a statement to the press, the Minister of the Interior announced that the Senegalese government had decided to “temporarily” restrict access to social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and Instagram. This was followed by a mobile internet temporary blackout.  Senegal has more than 20 million mobile internet connections.

The virtual solidarity session organised by AfricTivistes and the African Union’s Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC) provided an opportunity to inform the continent on the unfolding situation on the ground and to deepen understanding on the underlying issues that are driving the current unrest. It also served as an urgent call to provide redress measures for victims of the unrest and also to preserve civic space in Senegal ahead of the 2024 Presidential elections. The event was part of the digital engagement and democratic governance dialogues of the Charter Project Africa.

The ideas and reflections gathered at this session were presented as  recommendations submitted to the relevant departments and political bodies of the African Union in order to encourage these bodies to take action to support the consolidation of Senegal’s democratic gains. A key recommendation was for the African Union Peace and Security Council to activate the Continental Early Warning System as well as the Panel of the Wise to facilitate dialogue between political parties to appease tension.

Meanwhile, the National dialogue organised by the Senegalese government and boycotted by the so-called radical opposition and part of civil society produced 12 major points to ease the political tension.

However, on Friday 28 July, when Ousmane Sonko was arrested, the demonstrations were once again violently repressed, resulting in at least 10 deaths, particularly in Dakar and Ziguinchor. Mobile internet was once again cut off at the request of the Senegalese government on the same basis as in June. This decision once again violated citizens’ rights to freedom of expression and the right to be informed.

On several occasions, other values cherished by democrats have been violated, such as the dissolution of the main opposition party, PASTEF. Not to mention the attacks on press freedom.

It is in the context of these recurrent abuses that the African Union (AU) Panel of the Wise  issued its 14 August 2023  statement expressing its concern at the general decline of democracy underway in Senegal and Africa in general, symbolised by “attempts to restrict civil liberties and constitutional changes aimed at extending or reducing the term of office”.

In addition, this essential pillar of the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA), set up in 2007, is tasked with investigating the situation on the ground, presenting political options and seeking to reach agreements.

Composed of leading African figures from the continent’s five geographical regions, the body calls on the Senegalese government to consolidate democratic values to create an environment favourable to peace and prosperity in the country.

In this pre-electoral context (presidential elections in 2024), AfricTivistes welcomes this decision, which reflects various recommendations to several entities that can help ease the situation, including from Senegal’s strategic partners to the AU Peace and Security Council.