Alioune Badara Coulibaly: "Pastef, Diomaye and Sonko, a failed ambition"

Two years after the 2024 election, Alioune Badara Coulibaly offers a frank assessment of Pastef's governance. In this opinion piece titled "The Shipwrecked of Hope!", he argues that the promises of change made by the duo of Bassirou Diomaye Faye and Ousmane Sonko have given way to profound disillusionment. According to the author, the 2024 election failed to deliver on its promises, and the 2029 presidential election must usher in a new political cycle for Senegal. Seneweb presents the full text of this opinion piece.

“In a democracy, a people has the right to make sovereign mistakes without having to answer for their choices. The only question worth asking is whether those choices were made freely. From this perspective, the people can choose the leaders they deem worthy of leading the state, without being asked or required to explain or justify their choices. In 2024, the people chose to dismiss the “APR” regime that had been in power for twelve years. Clearly, this choice demonstrated the people’s clear-sightedness and their will to exercise their power for change. Democrats in Senegal and around the world reverently welcomed the decision of a sovereign people and congratulated the political actors. Victors and vanquished alike were united in the praise, the echoes of which resonated across the globe.” It is equally true today that the final choice of the two politicians and their political platform has proven fruitless. Those elected by universal suffrage in 2024 have amply demonstrated that change is far from being a reliable guarantee of governance and the direction of the nation's destiny. Harmful practices at the head of state are evident on an unprecedented scale. This change of power has enshrined the reign of mediocrity, promoted underhanded tactics, and decimated moral values and ethics. Above all, it has plunged the Republic into the abyss. Pastef, Diomaye, and Sonko now represent a failed ambition for Senegal and its people.

In hindsight, it seems clear that after Sonko became Prime Minister, his obsession was to amass as much wealth and material possessions as possible. Amassing money, more money, always more money! Even if it meant bringing Senegal to its knees. As is the case today. The political transition is sinking the country. The observation is clear, and sad.

Never before has our country experienced such social, economic, and ethical misery, all due to the personal ambition of one man, a complete lack of vision and sense of public service, and cynicism, fueled by irrepressible demagoguery. The promised paradise has become hell. Ousmane Sonko still believes he has, as they say, convictions and a vision for this country, when in reality he has nothing left but outbursts and empty boasts.

Senegal and the Senegalese people have suffered greatly and continue to suffer. The duo who seized power in 2024 are now perceived as shipwrecked survivors of the "Espérance" (Hope) era. They are now the object of outright and widespread rejection by a segment of the population, even though they stubbornly maintain the illusion that their former popularity remains intact. This rejection is all the more vehement because it stems from a broken heart.

It can be stated, without fear of contradiction from political events, that Pastef, and its leader in particular, has missed its rendezvous with history. Were it not for the immeasurable harm he and his team have inflicted on the Republic and its institutions, the man who seized power in the National Assembly might, to some extent, have inspired compassion. To paraphrase Léopold Sédar Senghor, the poet-president, one wonders how the democrats of this country could have remained deaf to so much "violated suffering"?

Today, citizens residing both within and outside the country are more convinced than ever that the months leading up to the 2029 presidential election will prove decisive. They will allow those determined to fight for the preservation of the national interest, the essential values of the Republic, and democracy to equip themselves with all the necessary means and opportunities for a promising new beginning. Regardless of who is elected, the upcoming presidential election will mark the end of a political cycle. We all hope that the country will seize this opportunity to place the most qualified and best-equipped personnel in the most strategic leadership positions, enabling them to address the numerous challenges we face. In this way, we will have fewer regrets and give a more positive meaning to the choices we made in 2024.