By Crisis: Senegal’s Main Opposition Loses one of its Founding Parties
Yewwi Askan Wi, the major opposition alliance of Senegal, is in disarray less than six months before the presidential election.
On Thursday, August 10, the block formally announced its breakaway from one of its founding parties.
The coalition was formed in advance of the 2022 municipal elections by more than a dozen political organisations. These organisations included Taxawu Senegal, led by former Dakar mayor Khalifa Sall, and Ousmane Sonko’s PASTEF.
According to the local news, Yewwi Askan Wi accused Taxawu Sénégal of “betrayal” on 9 August in the wake of an altercation at a Dakar municipal council meeting where one of Pastef’s coordinators lost his job as first deputy.
Yewwi claims that this “betrayal” is what caused the “end of the partnership” between the two organisations.
Taxawu Sénégal criticised the action, calling it a “deceptive pretext” for his removal.
Early in August, the National Assembly restored Khalifa Sall’s electoral rights and declared Khalifa Sall’s party as a contender for the 2024 presidential election.
Since Khalifa Sall agreed to participate in a contentious National Dialogue in May to reduce tensions on the eve of the rape trial of opponent Ousmane Sonko, another coalition leader, who had absolutely refused to take part, tensions between the party and the coalition have been running high.
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