16 BRIEFING BRIEFING 17 PEOPLE UP SPOTLIGHT 3 MONCEF MARZOUKI Sall has worked tirelessly since then to reach out to the rural areas, Many are fêting the pragmatism of Tunisia’s Islamist party which contain around two-thirds Ennahda, but Marzouki, the new president, has turned his bid Macky Sall of the electorate. Senegal’s politi- A into an art form, batting away complaints from secular liberals NS cal landscape is not traditionally O and building bridges with the new leaders in Libya. The pragmatist politician hopes to provide based on ethnic allegiances, and a serious challenge to President Abdoulaye Sall has not resorted to the kind of religious rhetoric of Idrissa Seck, Wade in Senegal’s presidential polls in but instead he pledges reforms ISAIAS AFEWERKI February, and provide a rallying point for a such as a reduction in the amount / UN of foreign embassies and the sepa- Despite the toughening of UN sanctions in early December, divided opposition in the second round ebebe ration of family and state. These are R D an upswing in gold investment and mining revenue set to not the radically attractive prom- inde benefit the state-owned mining company could help shore up K S IN THE RUN-UP to Senegal’s Feb- ises that would tempt much of the E the isolated government of the Eritrean president. ruary elections, all eyes are on the electorate – an unrealistic prom- men who will challenge President ise to end the energy crisis within Abdoulaye Wade at the polls, and a few months delighted many in Macky Sall carries more weight than electricity-starved Dakar – but in- KWESI BOTCHWEY 11 December 1961 ved most. Over the past decade the coun- stead point to Sall’s pragmatism, R Born in Fatick try’s opposition has been made up which could be influential were ese The chairman of Ghana’s National Gas Development Task R of two groups: the older, traditional he to make it to the second round. TS Force presided over the award of a $700m contract with the December 2000 H leaders such as Parti Socialiste lead- ig China Development Bank for the gas processing plant near Named director A late entry to the presiden- R er Ousmane Tanor Dieng and the general of Société tial race was music icon Youssou all Takoradi (see page 52 for more on gas in Ghana). head of Alliance des Forces de Pro- des Pétroles du N’Dour, an event that has turned grès, Moustapha Niasse; and those Sénégal an international spotlight on Sen- younger, more fiery leaders who have egal’s political story and inspired fallen or been pushed from grace April 2001 the opposition – up until then dis- DOWN during Wade’s 12-year rule. Appointed mines and organised and complacent – to take energy minister Of the latter, no one has quite the action. N’Dour might not have the VERÍSSIMO PINTO footprint in the rural areas and the April 2004 political background or support to political support in the cities to match Appointed prime manage a government, but he has As part of a massive investigation into the drugs trade and Macky Sall. Since his dramatic de- minister both popularity and funds, things money laundering, Cape Verdean police arrested Pinto, the parture from the party in 2008, Sall no one else in the running has. head of the national stock exchange, and six others on 20 has been winning support through June 2007 N’Dour’s entry to the race should December for suspected links to a cocaine-smuggling ring. a tireless campaign. Became president help to unite the opposition when it A geologist by training, Sall headed of the National comes to the planned second round Assembly the Société des Pétroles du Sénégal afp on 18 March. In the meantime, before becoming Wade’s special ad- analysts, journalists and political YVES MICHEL FOTSO viser for energy and mines. A loyal SEYLLOU/ commentators are chanting the PDS member, Sall rose to become motto ‘all against Wade’. N’Dour’s The imprisoned former director of Cameroon’s national airline prime minister and led Wade’s suc- potential post, including a seven- politics, and after Sall requested that camp remains tight-lipped about faced another blow as liquidators announced in December cessful re-election campaign in 2007, month jail term on accusations of Karim submit the accounts for the who he might fall behind, but for that they are looking for new investors in Commercial Bank aboup an election that few expected Wade embezzlement, Sall looked set to pick massively over-budget Organisation now he is not even considering M Cameroon, formerly an important holding of the Fotso Group. to win. A combination of hard work, up the mantle. of the Islamic Conference summit the possibility of failing to make loyalty and pragmatism made him a But as soon as the legislative elec- that he organised, Abdoulaye Wade the second round. What is sure is favourite to take over from Wade who, tions were over, Sall was removed reduced Sall’s mandate from five that whoever makes it to the sec- entering his 80s and growing increas- from his post and became president years to one. By the end of 2008, Sall ond round will gain the support of SAMUEL SAM-SUMANA ved ingly frail, seemed to be looking for of the National Assembly instead. In left the party, set up the Alliance pour millions of voters who are desper- R a successor. After Idrissa Seck’s dra- 2008, after Wade’s deeply unpopular la République and joined the ranks of ate for a change in 2012. l ese Allegations aired in an Al Jazeera documentary about illegal R matic exit son Karim began to take a leading those potential successors pushed out TS logging in Sierra Leone pointed to bribery within the office H from that Rose Skelton in Dakar ig of the vice-president. Vice-president Sumana has refused to role in everything from business to from Wade’s political family. R all resign ahead of national elections in August. The Lijadu Sisters Knit one, sing two Malam Bacai Sanha Guinea-Bissau president dies in Paris ved R ese NIGERIAN SINGING TWINS Taiwo and Kehinde are back on the scene. The sisters, who are THE 64-YEAR-OLD PRESIDENT of the troubled West African nation died on 9 January in a Paris hospital, where he had been R TS cousins of the late Fela Kuti, toured Europe and the United States in the 1970s and 1980s with in intensive care since December. Army officers had tried to stage a coup during his absence. Sanha is the second successive H ig the likes of King Sunny Ade and Ginger Baker. They released their debut album Danger in 1976 Guinea-Bissau president to die in office – his predecessor João Bernardo Vieira was assassinated in 2009. Sanha’s death makes R all and are set to re-release all four of their albums with US label Knitting Factory Records. l an already fragile political situation even more precarious and the international community will push for reconciliation. l the africa report • n° 37 • february 2012 the africa report • n° 37 • february 2012.