Why Senegal’s Democracy Survived

Feb 25, 2026

Catherine Lena Kelly, Director of Engagement at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies and scholar of Senegalese politics. She discusses the 2024 constitutional and electoral crisis, the Constitutional Council’s unexpected firmness, and civil society’s rapid mobilization. Conversations highlight democratic “muscle memory,” regional contrasts, institutional vulnerabilities, and the role of youth and media in preserving democracy.

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INSIGHT

How The 2024 Election Crisis Unfolded

Senegal's 2024 crisis was triggered when President Macky Sall postponed the February election after alleging corruption on the Constitutional Council.
The legislature moved to delay the vote to December, the judiciary struck that down, and the president eventually issued a new decree restoring a nearer date.

INSIGHT

Judicial Independence Plus People Power

Senegal's democratic survival rested on two pillars: an independent Constitutional Council and active civil society mobilization.
The Council, though largely appointed by the executive, acted professionally and asserted independence under public pressure.

ANECDOTE

2012 Contrast Shows Institutional Change Matter

In 2012 the five-member Constitutional Council allowed Abdoulaye Wade to run for a contested third term, unlike 2024 when the enlarged council resisted executive overreach.
A 2016 reform expanded the council to seven members and altered appointment rules, changing institutional dynamics.

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In 2024, Senegal faced a severe constitutional and electoral crisis. The presidential vote was postponed, tensions escalated, and fears of democratic breakdown intensified. Yet democracy held. Why?

In this episode of People Power Politics, Temitayo Odeyemi speaks with Catherine Lena Kelly and Ibrahima Fall and about their Journal of Democracy article, “Why Senegal’s Democracy Survived.” They examine how the Constitutional Council asserted its independence under executive pressure, how civil society mobilised to defend constitutional norms, and how what they call democratic “muscle memory” shaped citizen response.

The discussion situates Senegal’s experience within a wider regional context of coups and democratic regression. What explains Senegal’s divergence? Are its institutional safeguards transferable, or deeply context-specific? And what lessons does this case hold for democracies worldwide facing executive overreach?

Catherine Lena Kelly is Director of Engagement at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies and author of Party Proliferation and Political Contestation in Africa: Senegal in Comparative Perspective (Palgrave Macmillan, 2020). Ibrahima Fall is Director of Studies at the School of International Commerce, Communications, and Business Techniques (ETICCA) in Dakar and a leading analyst of Senegalese governance and constitutional politics.

Temitayo Isaac Odeyemi is a Research Fellow in Democratic Resilience at the University of Birmingham’s Centre for Elections, Democracy, Accountability and Representation (CEDAR). His research examines institutions, actors, and democratic engagement in Africa.

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