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Senegal's Presidential Bassirou Diomaye Faye casts his ballot during the early legislative election, at a polling station in Ndiaganiao, Mbour, Senegal on Nov. 17, 2024.
Senegal goes to the polls
Back in March, Faye secured 54% of the vote in the presidential election, making him Africa’s youngest elected leader at the age of 44. His victory came less than two weeks after being released from prison. Both Faye and his mentor Ousmane Sonko had been jailed onpolitically motivated charges, spurring months of protests in which dozens of people were killed and about 1,000 people were incarcerated.
Faye now faces the Takku Wallu opposition party led by former President Macky Sall, as well as 39 other registered parties and coalitions. Analysts expect Faye’s party, PASTEF, to secure the 83 seats required for a parliamentary majority. Faye and Sonko campaigned on a left-wing pan-African vision, promising to diversify partnerships and reassess hydrocarbon and fishing deals. He will also have to tackle a debt crisis, as a $1.9 billion IMF program is on hold pending a government audit.
Provisional results are expected Monday morning, with a final count to be published later in the week.
Dutch far-right politician and leader of the PVV, Geert Wilders, reacts as he meets the press in November 2023.
Who will work with Wilders?
That process isn’t going well. Success began looking less likely Tuesday evening when the center-right New Social Contract party announced it would not join a PVV-led government. The NSC’s leader explained that Wilders has made economic promises his party can’t keep, though the NSC also has concerns about the Islamophobic rhetoric that’s central to Wilders’ political brand.
Wilders will continue to try to form a right-wing government. If he fails, the Netherlands might see a Labour-Green alliance that shifts the country’s government to the left. Failing that, they might hold new elections. The talks were supposed to produce a report to parliament before it breaks for recess on Feb. 16, but it’s not clear that deadline can be met.
As in some other European countries – Germany, for example – far-right parties are surging, but few will partner with them to form governments.
Arctic Council Meltdown: Europe in 60 Seconds
Will the Arctic Council be able to agree on protection of that very sensitive environment up there?
Well, there's been a meeting of the Arctic Council in Rovaniemi in Finland. And for the first time it has failed to agree on a common declaration. And that is because the US refused any mention, any mention whatsoever, of climate change. That's a setback, no question about that, but let's hope that the participating states can agree on other measures to safeguard a better development of that very fragile part of our world.
How will President Macron and his party do in the European Parliamentary elections?
Well, looks somewhat more problematic if we look at the latest opinion polls. He has been having good momentum, but there has been more momentum for the nationalist forces in the last few weeks. We'll just have to wait and see.