President Bassirou Diomaye Faye targets APR leaders to consolidate his political party
via SeneNews3 min read
President Bassirou Diomaye Faye is reportedly focusing on Macky Sall's political family to strengthen his own political party, which he plans to officially launch on August 8. This strategy appears to be confirmed by gatherings of mayors, former ministers, and general directors from the previous administration, a move seen as an effort to weaken the APR party. Political sociologist Alioune Badara Kandji suggests that President Faye's approach, centered on ideological openness and reconciliation, aims to attract a broad base from within the APR. However, Jean-Charles Biagui, a political science researcher, views these gatherings as opportunistic, indicating that a true break from past political practices has yet to materialize. Biagui argues that the influx of these personalities, many of whom he considers not to be leading political figures, might not resonate with voters who, in March 2024, voted for change and a different political approach. Following an initial group of 306 mayors from the dissolved Benno Bokk Yakaar coalition, a second group of 40 mayors joined after an audience on July 11 at the Republic Palace. This list includes 14 mayors from the Linguère department, such as Samba Ndiobène Ka, a former minister under Macky Sall, and Ibrahima Baba Sall, mayor of Bakel, along with 15 mayors from Mbacké and 10 from Mbour. Additionally, several individual declarations of support have come from leaders and officials from the APR or former close collaborators of Macky Sall.
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This summary was AI-generated from a story originally published by SeneNews.
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