Senegal’s status as a leading democracy on the African continent is a contested one, challenged in new ways in each election and yet maintained over time through high levels of citizen participation and vigorous competition. The February 2019 presidential elections was no exception. With the benefit of incumbency advantages, Macky Sall won in the first round against a narrowed set of competitors. His victory reflects three major trends in sub-Saharan Africa today: the politicization and delegitimation of institutions of electoral administration, the rising popularity of “youth” candidates, and the drive toward postelection executive centralization.
About the Authors
Rachel Beatty Riedl
Rachel Beatty Riedl is professor of public policy and government at Cornell University and the Peggy J. Koenig ’78 Director of the Brooks Center on Global Democracy. Her latest book (edited with Valerie Bunce, Thomas Pepinksy, and Kenneth Roberts) is Global Challenges to Democracy: Comparative Perspectives on Backsliding, Autocracy, and Resilience (2025).
Ndongo Samba Sylla is a development economist and program and research manager in the West Africa office of the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation. He is coauthor of L’arme invisible de la Françafrique: Une histoire du franc CFA (2018).
Although Africa is a latecomer to democratization, Africans overwhelmingly support democracy, and their conception of democracy is surprisingly liberal.
