In Senegal, what is the F24, which calls for demonstrations?

In Senegal, the F24 announced to seize the ICC so that "the many crimes committed since 2021 do not go unpunished". Can the platform, which notably brings together political opponents of Macky Sall, have a role to play?

After the M5 in Mali or the M23 in Senegal, which had fought against Abdoulaye Wade's third term, the F3 is in the process of being structured, still in Senegal. The F24 wants to be a platform "for the struggle of the living forces of the Nation". A way of saying that it is made up of political figures from the opposition or independent, but also members of civil society or trade unions. The number 24 expressly refers to 24, the year of presidential elections in Senegal.

And this is the leitmotif of the coalition, which brings together a hundred entities: to prevent a possible third term of Macky Sall. But for several days, the tone has hardened within F3, which has just announced "the immediate referral to the ICC (International Criminal Court) and all international bodies so that the many crimes committed since 24 do not remain not go unpunished”.

The tone is raised

At the head of the coordination of the platform, we find a certain Mamadou Mbodj. The Senegalese was already known at the time of the launch of the M23, in 2011. Mbodj deplores the "democratic decline" of Senegal and calls for "a very large mobilization of Senegalese citizens to make Macky Sall admit that he cannot and that he should not run for a third term. Before ensuring that the F3 has "a deterrent force greater than that of the M24".

If the F24 logically places itself on the side of the demonstrators, and "denounces the systematic roundups of which many minors are victims and fall under the similarity of the charges in the hundreds of files", it also lined up behind Ousmane Sonko, of which he demands the immediate end of the blockade at his home, denouncing "the relentlessness of which the latter is the victim".

The rag has been burning for several months, between the F24 and the Senegalese president. But in recent days, the break has been more significant at the time of the refusal of the platform to participate in the national dialogue. Since then, the F24 has ensured that it is only concerned about one thing: “Dealing with the regime of President Mack Sall”.

But the message sent by the F24 is actually broader than a simple refusal of the 3rd term: the movement demands the release of "political" detainees, the organization of inclusive and transparent elections and, above all, the modification of the Electoral Code. to include court-convicted candidates.

Sonko, Touré, Fall… Allies today, adversaries tomorrow?

The F24 had called, on May 12, for a great mobilization. He finally had to wait for the verdict in the trial of Ousmane Sonko for the platform to really come back to the fore.

But its life will necessarily be limited in time. With members like Ousmane Sonko, the former mayor of Dakar Khalifa Sall, Déthié Fall or even Aminata Touré, it is clear that at the time of the presidential election of 2024, the latter will engage in a difficult electoral campaign.

If, at the time of its creation, the F24 claimed to want to "defend the Constitution and not subjective and personal problems" and to want to "transcend political parties", the platform knows that it has become a political tool against Macky Sall, in particular at cause of its members. To avoid an inevitable politicization, the F24 still hopes to convince the central trade unions and the religious to join the platform.