In Senegal, opponents Ousmane Sonko and Bassirou Diomaye Faye were released before the presidential election. A release that echoed in Benin, where Reckya Madougou and Frédéric Joël Aïvo, failed candidates in the 2021 presidential election, have been languishing behind bars for 3 years.
It is thanks to an amnesty law introduced by President Macky Sall and adopted by the Senegalese parliament that they found freedom. Ousmane Sonko sentenced June 1, 2023 to two years in prison for debauchery of a minor and Bassirou Diomaye Faye incarcerated for almost a year for contempt of court, were released from prison on March 14. This release welcomed with fervor by party activists Pastefchanged the course of the election.
Sunday March 24, 2024, the Senegalese peacefully went out en masse to fulfill their civic duty. Overall, the vote went smoothly and contrasted with the political mishmash that the country has recently experienced. In the end, the winner in the first round was Pastef’s candidate, Bassirou Diomaye Faye. The man who until recently stayed in a remand center now replaces Macky Sall at the head of Senegal. An alternation which further grows Senegalese democracy, real model in Africa and the sub-region.
Senegal, under my teaching, will be a country of hope, a peaceful country, with independent justice and a strengthened democracy. This is my promise, on the basis of the oath that I have just taken before this august assembly. pic.twitter.com/w6zGGP5iPG
— Bassirou Diomaye Faye (@DiomayeFaye) April 2, 2024
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It lasts three years
In Benin, the election of the new Senegalese president from the opposition leaves no stone unturned. His release shortly before the election is all the more striking for the Beninese. Indeed, two eminent sons of the country, Reckya Madougou and Frédéric Joël Aïvo, have been languishing in Beninese jails since 2021. The first was sentenced to 20 years by the CREATE pour financing of terrorism. Professor Joël Aïvo was sentenced to 10 years for money laundering and harm to state security. However, neither appealed. Failed in the 2021 presidential election for lack of sponsorship, they were arrested shortly before the election. The said election, deemed exclusive by the opposition, gave rise to bloody clashes between civilians and police.
A parliament divided on the question of amnesty
Despite all the calls for their release, President Patrice Talon remains firm in his position. Moreover, if we refer to his words, the possibility of a presidential pardon is not really possible. Consequently, the only option available is the amnesty law, the vote of which falls to parliament. This is why the opposition embodied in the hemicycle by the parliamentary group The Democrats introduced a proposed amnesty law which was rejected. The MP of the majority party, Progressive Union for Renewal, Borgia Tawes M’Bouke Dos Santos, described it as: “ Russian salad “. Nevertheless, the opposition, determined to go all the way, said it was ready to reintroduce the amnesty bill as many times as necessary. Many Beninese people are crossing their fingers that this fight will succeed, to finally turn this painful page.
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