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Voters in Senegal will finally go to the polls this weekend for an election that has been postponed, delayed and then reinstated. The West African country is widely considered a beacon of relative stability in a restless region, but its democratic resilience has been tested in recent years, as NPR's Emmanuel Akinwotu reports.
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EMMANUEL AKINWOTU, BYLINE: Music blazes from a campaign caravan at a rally in the capital Dakar.
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UNIDENTIFIED MUSICAL ARTIST: (Singing in non-English language).
AKINWOTU: Hundreds of opposition supporters party through the city streets late into the night and break into dance and chants of support, all in anticipation for an election which almost didn't happen.
ABDOULAYE GAKOU: (Speaking French).
AKINWOTU: On the streets of the capital, many like 33-year-old Abdoulaye Gakou say the democratic challenges in recent years has made this vote feel more urgent.
GAKOU: (Speaking French).
AKINWOTU: In French, he says, "everyone here is ready, especially young people. And we're waiting for the D-Day to get out and vote en masse."
The polls were due to be held in February until an unprecedented move by Senegal's outgoing president, Macky Sall.
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AKINWOTU: In a national address on state television last month, Sall announced that the elections would be postponed indefinitely and that he would extend his stay in power.
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PRESIDENT MACKY SALL: (Non-English language spoken).
AKINWOTU: He blamed the exclusion of some opposition candidates from the electoral roll and said a national dialogue was needed, but it was condemned as an institutional coup by civil society groups, and it sparked protests.
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AKINWOTU: Weeks later, the postponement was reversed by Senegal's Constitutional Court, which ruled that Sall had to leave office by April 2. The episode comes after growing accusations of a clampdown on critics and the media in recent years - accusations that have tainted Sall's image.
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SALL: (Through interpreter) And we have understood that democracy is everybody's business.
AKINWOTU: To the U.S. and others, Sall was seen as a staunchly Democratic figure. This was the president talking about democracy at the Africa Leaders Summit in Washington in 2013, the year after he was first elected.
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SALL: (Through interpreter) That democracy assumes free and transparent elections, and you must be held at specific deadlines. You must...
AKINWOTU: But many have now accused him of putting Senegal's democracy under strain. The threat of a potential third term from Sall was only quashed last July. Sall said he would not run again, even though he insisted it would be legal to do so.
BOUBACAR NDIAYE: (Non-English language spoken).
AKINWOTU: Boubacar Ndiaye is a political analyst at a West African think tank based in Dakar. He says the two front-runners in the vote offer contrasting visions for governing Senegal. One is the former prime minister, Amadou Ba, who was endorsed by Macky Sall as the candidate for the ruling party. His main challenger is Bassirou Diomaye Faye of the opposition, endorsed by Ousmane Sonko, who is one of Sall's fiercest critics. Sonko cannot run in the election but has attracted huge support from young people.
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AKINWOTU: Back on the streets in Dakar, the economy and lack of opportunity are the issues that are foremost in people's minds ahead of the vote.
GAKOU: (Speaking French).
AKINWOTU: Abdoulaye Gakou says, despite new infrastructure, like railways and roads built by the government, many in the country are still struggling with the high cost of living and the lack of jobs, so there has to be change.
Emmanuel Akimoto, NPR News, Lagos.
(SOUNDBITE OF MIRAA MAY SONG, "INTERNET TROLLS") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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