Senegal's New Vice Presidency-An Empty Shell

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SUBJECT: Senegal's New Vice Presidency-An Empty Shell


1. (SBU) Summary: On May 15 the Senegalese National Assembly voted
in a favor of a constitutional amendment to create the position of
Vice President (VP). Although many deputies belonging to President
Abdoulaye Wade's own party argued against the move, saying that such
a position is superfluous, they passed the law nonetheless. The VP
has no executive power and his/her terms ends with that of the
President, meaning that that person is not even in the succession
hierarchy. The Senate is expected to vote in favor for the adoption
of the amendment on Monday, May 25, after which both houses will
meet in congress to adopt the amendment. End Summary.

Content of the Law
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2. (SBU) The proposed amendment is made up of three articles. The
first article, added to article 26 of the Constitution, states "The
President may be assisted by a Vice President appointed after
consultations with the Presidents of the Senate and the National
Assembly. The Vice President's term shall not exceed that of the
President." The Vice President must fulfill all criteria required
to become Head of State: i.e. hold exclusively Senegalese
nationality; be at least 35 years old on the day of the election;
and be able to read, write, and speak fluently the country's
official language (French). The law also stipulates that the VP
will be second in rank after the Head of State. It also stipulates
that the President can "by decree delegate to the Vice President
certain powers," but those powers should not be in the domain of
what is generally referred to as sovereignty powers. Powers that
cannot be delegated are listed as follows in the Constitution:
defining the policy of the nation (art. 42); accrediting ambassadors
(art. 46); the power to pardon (art. 47); the power to appoint the
cabinet (art. 49); the power to initiate a referendum (art. 51)
exceptional powers when the Nation is in peril (art. 52); the power
to sign bills into law (art. 72 and 73); the power to dissolve the
National Assembly (art. 87); and the power to appoint senior and
Supreme Court judges (art. 89 and 90).

Hesitant Law-makers
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3. (SBU) President Wade's ruling Senegalese Democratic Party (PDS)
and allied parties control 100 percent of the Senate and 90 percent
of the National Assembly. For this reason, Wade can usually expect
easy passage of any of his pet projects. However, in this case he
anticipated (correctly as it turns out) that some PDS deputies would
be reticent to vote for the amendment because its passage would
appear to run contrary to the will of the Senegalese people who
recently handed the PDS a defeat in local elections in part because
of a widespread view that government expenditures are out of
control. On May 7, President Wade invited all of his party's
deputies and cabinet members to the presidency to explain his
rationale for the Vice Presidency. He opened the meeting by telling
them that he wished to hear their views on the issue. Elhadj Diouf,
the head of a small party in Wade's coalition told the President
that "Creating a VP is not necessary and it is dangerous." Diouf
was roundly applauded by his colleagues. A member of the Assembly
who attended the meeting told the Embassy that it was at this point
that Wade turned to Alioune Diop, the Deputy Director for Political
Affairs in the Presidency, and asked him to stop giving the floor to
the Deputies. He then berated Elhadj Diouf telling him, "You miss
the political point here. I see that you still have a long way to
go before being a political leader." The President explained that
the VP's main task will be to help women in rural areas and deal
with their socio-economic issues.

Wade Modifies Proposal Under Pressure
--------------


4. (SBU) In the first version of the amendment, the VP was to be
appointed for an indefinite period and the position favored giving
women access to a senior executive position in the State. When the
Assembly's Legislative Committee examined the amendment on May 14,
the Minister of Justice accepted three changes suggested by critical
deputies from the ruling party. The first was to eliminate
references to women in order to avoid discrimination. The
government then agreed to include a line that the President has to
consult the chairs of the two chambers of Parliament before
appointing the VP, although their advice will not be binding. The
President also agreed that the term of the VP cannot be longer than
that of the President's. The legislative report explaining the
rationale for the amendment was also completely rewritten. Now
instead of saying the position is created to promote women, the
report now reads, "The Vice President will allow the President to be
better represented and increase the President's efficacy. The Vice
President will boost the fluidity of the functioning of
administrative entities, which are directly under the President's
authority."

Tiny Opposition

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5. (SBU) In spite of the criticism, the vast majority of deputies
defended and voted for the amendment. However, the President's
coalition did feature two deputies who abstained and one who voted
against the law. Those who abstained denounced what they viewed as
Wade's authoritarian approach and the urgency to create an
unnecessary position. Elhadj Diouf who voted against it said in the
plenary session, "I will not vote for this law because I am not a
coward, and Senegal is not a banana republic." He further went on
"if we cannot say no to Wade, what are we doing in this Assembly?
Wade makes mistakes and we must tell him so if our goal is to remain
in power".

A Weakened President
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6. (SBU) Minister of Justice Madicke Niang, who defended the law on
behalf of the government, said that the Government is not creating
another institution. In his view, the "Vice Presidency will
increase the proximity and relations of the State with the people.
The Vice President will represent the President." Niang continued
by saying that with the VP in place Wade could continue to look for
funding abroad to support Senegal's development. For NDeye Fatou
Toure, a deputy with the small Tekki opposition party, the need to
create a glorified "Assistant President" is a "sign of impotence."
Imam MBaye Niang, a fiery opposition deputy from an Islamic
reformist party, noted that this was the fifteenth amendment to the
Constitution in eight years (Note: This version of the Constitution
itself was only adopted in 2001. End Note.); he told the Minister
of Justice "if you continue to govern this way, you will make it
easy for us to replace you at the next Presidential election."


A women-centered strategy
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7. (SBU) The creation of the position of VP is pure political
theater that allows Wade to burnish his pro-feminine credentials.
This was clearly stated in the original version of the amendment
that read, "In his continued will to strengthen the power of women
in the institutions, the President of the Republic had recently
proposed to women the choice of being offered either the position of
Prime Minister or of that of Vice President [on the occasion of his
independence day address to the nation]." A PDS leader told the
Embassy that women figure prominently in President Wade's strategy
to have his son Karim elected Senegal's next President. Wade plans
to give them access, via the new VP, to economic benefits with the
goal of having them support Karim. The VP will benefit from the
President's funds and proximity to boost programs targeting women.
Awa Ndiaye, a former Minister of Family Affairs and a female leader
of the Generation du Concret created by the President's son, will be
assisting the VP in her new capacity as a Senior Minister in
President Wade's office.

COMMENT
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8. (SBU) By the Government's own admission the Vice President of
Senegal has very little power and one wonders why the position is
even necessary. The reality is that the VP is a totally useless and
unnecessary entity that will add another parasite to Senegal's
already bloated body politic. Meanwhile, the gap between President
Wade and the citizenry continues to widen. While the people elected
opposition candidates to run their cities as a warning to Wade to
improve governance and address their basic needs, he remains
stubbornly focused on trying to contain the opposition while
promoting the fortunes of his son.
Bernicat