Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07DAKAR1141
2007-05-24 11:20:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Dakar
Cable title:  

THE OPPOSITION EXPLAINS THE BOYCOTT

Tags:  PGOV PHUM PINS SOCI PINR KDEM SG 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO5287
OO RUEHPA
DE RUEHDK #1141/01 1441120
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 241120Z MAY 07
FM AMEMBASSY DAKAR
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8403
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN 0050
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DAKAR 001141 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR AF/W, AF/RSA, DRL/AE AND INR/AA
PARIS FOR POL - D,ELIA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/24/2017
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PINS SOCI PINR KDEM SG
SUBJECT: THE OPPOSITION EXPLAINS THE BOYCOTT


Classified By: POLITICAL OFFICER OSMAN N. TAT FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (
D).

SUMMARY
-------
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DAKAR 001141

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR AF/W, AF/RSA, DRL/AE AND INR/AA
PARIS FOR POL - D,ELIA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/24/2017
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PINS SOCI PINR KDEM SG
SUBJECT: THE OPPOSITION EXPLAINS THE BOYCOTT


Classified By: POLITICAL OFFICER OSMAN N. TAT FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (
D).

SUMMARY
--------------

1. (C) In a May 23 meeting with the Ambassador, leaders of
many of the 17 Senegalese opposition parties that are
boycotting the June 3 legislative election explained their
position and probed possible U.S. government support.
Warning that Senegal,s democracy is under grave threat, the
party leaders alleged a panoply of fraud and irregularities
during the presidential election and underlined that their
goal is to engage in constructive dialogue with the
government. They also warned that ignoring them could be the
spark that ignites a country that is already frustrated by
and suffering from high unemployment and a crushingly
expensive cost of living. END SUMMARY.

DIALOGUE IS KEY
--------------

2. (C) In his opening statement Democratic League/Movement
for the Labor Party leader Abdoulaye Bathily thanked the
United States for its steadfast support of Senegal,s
democracy and then described the opposition,s current talks
with President Wade as being at an impasse. Acknowledging
that divergent views are healthy in a democracy, he went on
to outline a long history of dialogue between the Government
and the opposition parties, saying that Wade had become
President due to reforms that former President Abdou Diouf
had carried out after meeting with the opposition. He said
that Wade,s continued refusal to meet with them is an insult
to Senegal,s democracy and accused Wade of unilaterally
changing the rules of the game without worrying about the
consequences for the country. Socialist Party leader Ousmane
Tanor Dieng said that Wade is now destroying the very stairs
that had taken him to the summit of the state. Noting that
the United States cannot get involved in Senegal,s internal
politics, Ambassador Jacobs agreed that dialogue and
inclusion in the electoral process are the keys to resolving

the impasse and that Senegal must continue to be a beacon of
democracy for Africa.

FRAUD AND MANIPULATION
--------------

3. (SBU) Professor Bhatily said that the group is currently
collecting evidence that shows beyond a doubt that Wade and
his Senegalese Democratic Party (PDS) had instigated massive
fraud to secure a first round victory in the February 25
presidential election. He said that the fraud included using
one person to vote multiple times, having foreigners from
neighboring countries register and vote, and deliberately
delaying the distribution of voter registration cards in
districts where the PDS knew it was weak. Through these
methods Bhatily alleged that over 500,000 extra votes were
garnered mostly in favor of Wade. Dieng said that it was
time consuming to collect so much evidence and hence this why
they have yet to publish their findings. He argued that
these were not small dysfunctions but an extremely well
planned strategy to steamroll the opposition.

SO WHAT,S THE POINT
--------------

4. (C) Faced with such insurmountable odds, the opposition
leaders say that if they compete in the legislative election
they would be party to the &fait accompli8 that got Wade
elected President. Dieng asserted that they all understand
the risks involved in boycotting the election but that they
had no choice but to undertake an &Acte Majeure8 to
sensitize the voter and international partners as to what is
going on in Senegal. Bhatily added that there was no point
in competing in an election where the results are
pre-ordained and predicted that the PDS would win at least
120-125 seats in the 150 member National Assembly. He
stressed that even if they had competed, Wade,s
gerrymandering means that the opposition would win so few
seats that they could not even form a parliamentary group.

THE COUNTRY MAY IMPLODE
--------------

5. (SBU) Warning that simmering frustrations with the high
cost of living and an urban youth unemployment rate of 80
percent could explode at any time, the President of the
Socialist Party,s women,s group, Aminata Mbengue Ndiaye,
contended that many conflicts in Africa stem from poorly run
and ambiguous elections. She continued with a prediction
that if Wade refuses to engage the opposition it will be very
difficult to keep people from violently expressing their
views and &detonating their frustrations8. She said that

DAKAR 00001141 002 OF 002


citizens must be given the fair opportunity to change their
government and that Wade had clearly blocked that avenue.

COMMENT
--------------

6. (C) It is difficult to disagree with the opposition,s
assertion that Wade has undermined the country,s principal
institutions during his tenure. Since he became President,
the National Assembly has weakened considerably; the
judiciary has become politicized to the point where its
independence is questionable; the civil service is home to
PDS loyalists and local level politicians and Members of
Parliament have been placated with lavish gifts such as new
SUVs. Wade has also used the Treasury to fund his political
campaigns and reformed laws to fit his agenda. While, none
of his actions are illegal per se they are ethically
questionable and severely undermine Senegal,s image as a
model democracy. The opposition,s argument that dialogue
has been the bedrock of Senegal,s democracy is a strong one
and President Wade must be encouraged to re-engage an
opposition which in 2001 he insisted be identified in the
Constitution as one of the pillars of the country,s
democratic system. Mission will continue to closely monitor
developments and work with the Government, international
partners and the opposition to encourage reconciliation. END
COMMENT.

PARTICIPANTS
--------------

7. (SBU) Thirteen people participated in the Ambassador,s
meeting with the opposition:

United States
--------------
Ambassador Janice Jacobs
DCM Robert Jackson
Political Officer Osman Tat
Information Attache Paul Houge
Political FSN El Hadj Sarr

The Opposition
--------------
Ousmane Tanor Dieng, First Secretary of the Socialist Party
Amath Dansokho, Secretary General of the Party for
Independence and Labor
Abdoulaye Bhatily, Secretary General of Democratic
League/Movement for the Labor Party
Khoudia Mbaye, President of the Party for Independence and
Labor
Omar Gueye, Representing Idrissa Seck,s Rewmi
Massene Niang, President of the Movement for Socialism and
Unity
Madieyna Diouf, Deputy Secretary General of the Alliance of
Forces for Progress (AFP)
Aminata Mbengue Ndiaye, President of the Socialist Party,s
Women,s Group


8. (U) Visit Embassy Dakar,s SIPRNET website at
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/af/dakar.
JACOBS