Why Senegal’s Democracy Survived

Feb 25, 2026

Ibrahima Fall, Director of Studies at ETICCA in Dakar and analyst of Senegalese governance. He discusses the 2024 constitutional squeeze, how the Constitutional Council held firm, and the surge of civic mobilization. Short takes cover judicial independence, civil society’s “democratic muscle memory,” and why Senegal diverged from regional coups.

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INSIGHT

How The 2024 Election Crisis Unfolded

Senegal's 2024 democratic crisis centered on a delayed presidential election after the president challenged Constitutional Council members and abrogated the election decree.
The legislature moved the date to December, the judiciary struck that down, and the president later issued a new, shorter-date decree resolving the impasse.

INSIGHT

Judiciary And Civil Society Combined To Save Democracy

The article identifies two pillars for survival: an independent judiciary and active civil society working together under pressure.
The Constitutional Council asserted independence despite many members being executive appointees, aided by public entreaties and professional judicial culture.

ANECDOTE

2012 Versus 2024 Constitutional Council Choices

In 2012 the five-member Constitutional Council allowed Abdoulaye Wade to run for what many saw as a third term, contrasting with 2024 when the reconstituted seven-member council refused similar overreach.
The 2016 reform expanded the council to seven members, altering dynamics but not eliminating executive influence.

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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.

The People, Power, Politics podcast brings you the latest insights into the factors that are shaping and re-shaping our political world. It is brought to you by the Centre for Election, Democracy, Accountability and Representation at the University of Birmingham, United Kingdom. Join us to better understand the forces that promote and undermine democratic government around the world. Transcript here.

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