VZCZCXRO0462
RR RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHDK #0189/01 0431746
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 121746Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY DAKAR
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1858
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DAKAR 000189 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR AF/W, AF/RSA, DRL AND INR/AA 
PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINS KDEM ECON SG
SUBJECT: Senegal's Local Elections: Court Ruling is Fishy 
 
REF: DAKAR 173 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: Dakar's Court of Appeals ruled on February 6 that 
the ruling Democratic Party of Senegal (PDS) could compete in local 
elections in ten rural communities despite its failure to comply 
with a deadline set by the Electoral Code.  The Autonomous National 
Electoral Commission (CENA) and the coalition of opposition parties 
expressed frustration and questioned the independence of the 
judiciary after the ruling.  The opposition parties announced that 
they will set up "anti-fraud brigades" to counter the ruling party. 
End Summary. 
 
An Alleged Lack of "Sufficient evidence" 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU)  A panel of judges at the Court of Appeals ruled that there 
was not enough evidence that documents signed by local GOS 
authorities allowing the ruling coalition to hand in their lists 
after a midnight January 20 deadline had passed were fraudulent. 
This position divided the twenty-four members of the Court.  A judge 
who was involved in the secret deliberations told Embassy that the 
discussion was very tense and polarized.  He noted that subsequent 
criticisms of the ruling in the media had shaken the members of the 
court. 
 
Judges Try to Run Out the Clock 
----------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) The opposition now wants to appeal the case to the Supreme 
Court, but six days after its ruling the Appeals Court has yet to 
publish an official decree.  Without this document, it is impossible 
to appeal to the Supreme Court.  The opposition fears that the Court 
of Appeals is deliberately delaying the publication of their ruling 
because they know they have a weak argument.  The Court of Appeals 
is headed by Cheikh Tidiane Diakhate who has a reputation for taking 
orders from the presidency.  For example, during the trial of former 
Prime Minister Idrissa Seck before the High Court of Justice, he is 
widely believed to have been instrumental in guiding the 
investigative committee towards a pre-determined, 
government-approved, political settlement. 
 
The GOS pressured local authorities 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) Throughout the country, the government pressured local 
authorities to ignore electoral deadlines; otherwise the PDS would 
have failed to have candidates in several councils where they were 
handicapped by fierce internal rivalries.  In the case of the 
departments of NDindi and NDoulo, the representative of the PDS 
purposefully missed the deadline to take revenge against party 
leaders who failed to include members of his group among the 
candidates.  A senior leader of the And-Jef/African Party for 
Democracy and Socialism (AJ/PADS), a party allied to Wade with two 
cabinet positions, told poloff that, in his city of Kaolack, he 
decided to run under the banner of his own party, but to his 
surprise, the identity documents of his candidates were stolen at 
the office of the court clerk in Kaolack.  Faced with the prospect 
of missing the deadline, he alerted the media and wrote to the 
Minister of Interior.  The latter received him and instructed the 
Governor and Prefects of Kaolack to ignore the deadline and accept 
his list of candidates. 
 
Forged lists 
------------ 
 
¶5. (SBU) In five areas in the populous Pikine and Guediawaye suburbs 
of Dakar, it was disgruntled PDS members who went to the opposition 
to denounce the fact that their names had been added to the PDS list 
without their consent.  They accused the Chair of the National 
Assembly, Mamadou Seck, of being the author of the fraud.  To be a 
candidate one has to submit a signed statement as well as a court 
record.  They indicated that they had neither signed nor submitted 
any such papers.  That case will be heard by the Court of Appeals of 
Dakar on February 12. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Local elections are five weeks away, but many pundits 
would not be surprised if Wade postpones them. There has been a 
systematic violation of the Electoral Code by the Ministry of 
Interior and the Court of Appeals has, so far, been turning a blind 
eye.  On top of this, a powerless and financially weak National 
Electoral Commission is being ignored by government authorities. 
Paradoxically, according to members of the PDS and its coalition 
partners, Wade has decided to tacitly approve of party/coalition 
dissidents to compete separately so that they can capture the votes 
of unhappy electors who wish to punish the PDS.  It is expected that 
 
DAKAR 00000189  002 OF 002 
 
 
after the elections, these dissidents will come back to the fold one 
way or another, thus ensuring PDS control of local governments. 
Bernicat