Soft Revolution

Sunu2012 is a web project built on a civic initiative led by young Senegalese people committed to democracy and transparency. It was designed to help Senegalese citizens make informed choices at election time, while also acting as a genuine watchdog for democracy through a network of young cyber-activists committed to monitoring transparency and respect for the electoral process.

The project helped politicians understand that social media could help them build credibility and improve their public image. Following my post entitled SENEGAL: A presidential campaign in the internet age, some politicians and presidential candidates quickly realised that they needed an effective social media strategy alongside their use of traditional media. It is true that we have not yet reached the stage of “participatory democracy” or “deliberative democracy”, nor that of e-voting. Nevertheless, Senegalese cyber-activists’ web strategy enabled e-mobilisation at rallies organised by the Y’en A Marre and M23 movements; e-awareness-raising to encourage more people to register on the electoral rolls and collect their voter cards; and an e-revolution when it became necessary to denounce the authorities’ unconstitutional decisions in the months before the presidential election (the presidential ticket law, the release of political detainees, and the government’s abuses, among other issues). Thanks to social media, Senegalese people used the internet as a powerful channel of influence to galvanise civic action. More than a communications tool, the Senegalese web enabled everyone to take part in democratic and civic debates. Unlike traditional media, which have a limited range of contributors, the internet broadened access to information and enabled citizens to express their views.

5 objectives:

• The first is to contribute to developing and strengthening the image of transparency and democracy in Senegal. To this end, our team gave particular importance to the selection of content (provided by the candidates) and the platform’s structure, but above all to the quality of its content (programmes, speeches, official statements, among other things), in order to support civic monitoring.

• The second objective is to enable Senegalese people to participate as citizens in the electoral process and in choosing their candidate. To this end, candidate profile pages featured content and services specifically tailored to inform voters: candidate profiles, personal identification sheets, programmes, schedules, coalitions or political parties, photographs, videos and press releases. An e-civic observatory was also set up to monitor the electoral process and presidential campaign.

• The project’s third objective is to support communications by bringing information to voters, who were able to share their views on the country’s future and thereby generate civic momentum. The platform kept citizens informed about candidates’ programmes and schedules, the electoral process and the candidates’ visions. The aim was to demonstrate that their programmes were sound and that they had the potential to govern the entire nation.

• The fourth objective is to help politicians and candidates become more responsive, and to encourage effective proactivity among Senegal’s new citizens. To this end, specific content and services were offered, including interviews, career profiles and information about candidates’ values and programmes. Once again, these measures formed part of the overall strategy to promote democracy and transparency.

• The programme’s flagship objective is to establish an information system and facilitate access to the relevant authority, so that every Senegalese citizen can register on the electoral rolls and obtain a voter card.