In Senegal, the conviction of the mayor of Dakar could hamper the candidacy of his ally, Khalifa Sall, for the presidential election

2023-12-25 11:50:49
The mayor of Dakar, Barthélémy Dias, during an opposition meeting in the Senegalese capital, March 14, 2023. JOHN WESSELS / AFP

The affair, twelve years old, sticks to the reputation of the mayor of Dakar. On December 22, 2011, Barthélémy Dias was filmed in front of his town hall in the commune of Mermoz-Sacré-Coeur, in the capital, with a pistol in each hand. The tension is palpable a few weeks before a presidential election which promises to be tense, while men threaten to attack the building. The situation degenerates, and a demonstrator, Ndiaga Diouf, presented as a thug of the Senegalese Democratic Party (PDS), is shot and killed. Barthélémy Dias was quickly implicated.

Twelve years later, the case is about to be closed. The Supreme Court confirmed on Friday December 22 the conviction of Barthélémy Dias, 48, to two years in prison including six months for “fatal assault”. A guilt that the councilor continues to deny, even if he admits to having used his weapons. “I consider myself a victim of injustice”declared Barthélémy Dias during a press conference a few days before the hearing, on December 15.

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For Barthélémy Dias, who has already served his sentence in preventive detention, there is no risk of returning to prison. But while the young mayor of the Mermoz-Sacré-Coeur commune became the elected representative of the entire capital in 2022 and won a mandate as an opposition deputy, this affair could have political consequences for the presidential election of 25 February 2024. It could deprive him of a seat in the National Assembly, and in turn, hamper his ally, Khalifa Sall, one of the opposition’s main chances for the presidential election on February 25. Barthélémy Dias has in fact already granted his sponsorship as a deputy to the leader of Taxawu Senegal. 13 are needed for a candidacy file to be submitted to the Constitutional Council on December 26. However, the removal of Mr. Dias is not automatic. It is up to Aissata Tall Sall, Macky Sall’s Minister of Justice, to make the request.

Linked destinies

In the camp of the mayor of Dakar, we denounce a political affair. “It’s a very long story with political underpinnings. On the eve of each election, we stirred up the process »denounces Thierno Ndiaye, one of Barthélémy Dias’ political advisors, who recalls that his client had been summoned for his appeal trial in November 2021 then in March 2022, on the eve of the local and legislative elections, which had caused altercations with the police and a brief incarceration of the accused.

In twenty years of common political struggle started in the Socialist Party (PS), Barthélémy Dias and Khalifa Sall are used to linking their destinies. Together, they were excluded from their political party in 2016, and the following year, together, they fought the justice of President Macky Sall while Khalifa Sall, mayor of Dakar, was imprisoned.

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Following in the footsteps of his mentor, Barthélémy Dias was in turn elected head of the capital in 2022 thanks to the support of Ousmane Sonko’s ex-Pastef. But the alliance was short-lived: within the opposition, Mr. Sall and Mr. Dias chose a more moderate line than Mr. Sonko, notably adopting a strategy of dialogue with those in power. “Traitors”, for Pastef supporters, they decided that Khalifa Sall would defend the colors of Taxawu Senegal during the next presidential election. In view of February 25, Barthélémy Dias is one of his closest advisors. But he could continue to be embarrassed by his legal troubles. According to his lawyers, the Supreme Court’s decision is not final. “It’s not over, we can still initiate the stop flap procedure”a rare procedure which allows the decision of the highest court in the country to be annulled, explains Me Ciré Clédor Ly, one of his counsel.

Théa Ollivier (Dakar, correspondence)