THE IMPLACABLE JUDGMENT OF THE RELIGIOUS ABOUT THE DEBATES ON THE THIRD MANDATE

Some 16 months before the 2024 presidential election, the supposed third candidacy of the Head of State, Macky Sall, continues to fuel discussions in offices, living rooms and other main squares. In the public space in general. Politicians, those of the opposition as well as their opponents of power, are struggling on the subject and experienced lawyers are working as hard as possible to enlighten – or confuse more! —, each according to their principles and convictions, the populations on the merits or not of this candidacy. Not-so-ordinary citizens, clerics, official regulators of a changing society, marabouts and other religious guides, whether Muslim or Catholic, also have their opinions on the matter. Overview of the question with our religious.

Chérif Mouhamadine Doucouré: “The position of Islam is unequivocal on the subject”

For Chérif Mouhamadine Doucouré, a Muslim jurisconsult established in Mbour and who hailed the relevance of such a subject, the position of Islam is unequivocal on the subject. According to him, if President Macky Sall decides to run in 2024, he will have trampled on the words of God who explicitly says in the Koran this: “O you who believe, why do you say things that you cannot not to do. There are no more terrible sins than this. It is 500 times more serious than adultery”.

Continuing, our interlocutor indicates that “if you return to the tradition of the Prophet Mohamed (PSL), he said in one of his hadiths that the characteristic traits of the hypocrite are three in number: If he talks, he lies, if he promises you, he retracts or denies himself and if you entrust him with a secret, he leaks it. However, everyone knows that it was Macky Sall, himself, who said in a loud and intelligible voice that he will not appear in 2024. So, if he does, he falls under the blame of the Koran and Islam”.

Chérif Mouhamadine Doucouré, who declines all affiliation to any political formation other than the Senegal entity, nevertheless prays that our country be in the hands of a truthful, hardworking person and cantor of peace.

Serigne Cheikhouna Mbacké: “Macky Sall had locked the Constitution”

Another renowned jurisconsult, but living in the holy city of Touba this time, Serigne Cheikhouna Mbacké agrees with practically the same idea as his counterpart from Mbour. “On the Islamic level, the religion formally forbids believers to say things that they could not do. The surah is there and the verses available. When a person says something and doesn’t do it, it’s considered a lie. And there is no more serious sin for the Muslim, according to the Prophet Mohamed (PSL), than lying which can lead straight to hell. Even when a person says something they can do and doesn’t do it, that falls within the scope of lying. Even the angels do not record sins relating to lying. These sins fly by themselves directly to God who lists them. And if we base ourselves on the declarations of Macky Sall and his allies, there is no ambiguity on the subject. Macky Sall has said and repeated many times that he will not be a candidate in 2024. It is said and written”, slice Serigne Cheikhouna Mbacké.

Without being an expert in constitutional law, Serigne Cheikhouna Mbacké believes that, in legal terms, it can be said that Macky had been elected for a 7-year term even if he had promised to reduce this term to 5. Still according to this marabout established in Touba, we can also say that the Constitutional Council forbade him to serve a first term of 5 years, which did not prevent him from saying that if he is re-elected in 2017, he will do 5 years ; which will make 7+5 = 12 years. And, beyond that, still according to our interlocutor, he said that he will no longer serve a mandate. Crystal clear!

Another argument raised by this rigorous jurisconsult, the fact that Macky Sall found, on his accession to the supreme magistracy of the country, a Constitution left by his predecessor Abdoulaye Wade and which stipulated that no one could serve more than two terms. Macky Sall even went so far as to lock this constitutional provision by saying that no one can serve more than two consecutive terms. “Consequently, based on this observation, both constitutionally and Islamically, Macky Sall is disqualified for a third term,” judge Serigne Cheikhouna Mbacké.

Sura 61 entitled “The Rank” disqualifies Macky Sall

For the writer and researcher Imam Ahmadou Makhtar Kanté of Point E, President Macky Sall cannot, from an ethical or religious point of view, stand for another mandate in the sense that “it would be not respecting his public word”.

Imam of the Baghdad mosque in Thiaroye Azur, Youssoupha Fall evokes, like other Muslim jurists interviewed by us, sura 61, Le Rang or As-Saff in its verses 2 and 3: “O you who believed ! Why do you say what you don’t do? It is a great abomination with Allah to say what you do not do”.

Serigne Ibrahima Kounta: “We must cultivate peace and be part of a dynamic of peace”

Young marabout belonging to the religious family of Ndiassane, Serigne Ibrahima Kounta thinks that, in this world, we must cultivate peace which is the base of all development. For him, it is not a question of praying for peace, it is necessary to cultivate it by being part of a good dynamic. Only thus will God accept our prayers of peace, according to him. “Opinions differ on the third candidacy of President Macky Sall. At the start of his mandate, he gave his position on term limits. Today, obviously, his mind and his heart lean for the opposite of what he had maintained. It is in the nature of human beings to go back on things already said. We have a democratic voting system in Senegal and our main weapon, us citizens, is our voter card. If someone says one thing and does the opposite, let him be punished by the verdict of the polls. This has already happened under Abdoulaye Wade. It is of divine essence that human beings find it difficult to bring themselves to put an end to their power. Our duty and our essential research must be the preservation of social peace”, recommends Serigne Ibrahima Kounta.

ALF: “Risk of indescribable Chaos”

As for AL F, a customary chief of the place, he maintains that President Macky should not, from all points of view, represent himself in 2024. conditions for the creation of the Apr, must make those around him think about the risks that his candidacy may generate during a possible declaration before the end of the current mandate. Obviously, the recent outings of his supporters show a favorable trend for his candidacy in 2024. I have just followed Minister Abdoulaye Saydou Sow on Walf Tv (Editor’s note: the interview took place on Sunday October 23, 2022). They all say that Macky must follow the instructions of his party and the coalition he is part of regarding this question of candidacy in 2024. They all say that it is the people who must decide the question in a democratic election. and transparent, as in 2012 with Abdoulaye Wade. Which means that they will push hard to present Macky in 2024, even if there is a risk of death, but the Senegalese will decide by electing the candidate of their choice.

Morally, religiously and ethically, Macky should not show up in 2024, but everything suggests that the opposite will happen, and that would be a shame, because there will be far too much damage. in the country which risk plunging into indescribable chaos”.

Abbé Alphonse Birame Ndour: “You just have to know how to leave with your head held high”

Priest of the Archdiocese of Dakar, parish priest of Saint Charles Borromée de Gorée, Father Alphonse Birame Ndour, despite his busy schedule, was kind enough to answer our questions while specifying that he would intervene in a personal capacity. “My words do not commit the Church in any way. I would like to say at the start that I am neither a legal expert nor even less a legal practitioner. Constitutional issues are not my expertise either. And I would like to congratulate Mr. President Macky Sall on the work that has been done to lead Senegal on the path to emergence,” said Abbot Alphonse Birame Ndour from the outset.

For the man of God, it is notorious that after two consecutive mandates, one should no longer represent oneself according to the text. “From the religious and biblical point of view, by quoting the Gospel according to Saint Matthew in chapter 5 verse 37, which is part of the whole Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gives firm recommendations to his faithful. And, in the end of this part, he says let your yes be yes, let your no be no, whatever you add to it is from the devil. That is to say, comes from the bad”, says Abbé Alphonse Birame Ndour.

The parish priest of St Charles Borromée de Gorée continued: “Based on this, I would like to talk about the question of the word given which means that we should not shirk ourselves even less go back on what has already been said urbi et orbi and which rightly resonated in the ears of some and others. In our country, Senegal, unfortunately, we can easily back down. Which is not a good ethical or moral value but which should be able to be avoided so that we can at the same time avoid misunderstandings and misunderstandings and sometimes even conflicts and violence because we think and feel that we have been wronged. Someone who is aggrieved seeks protest. This is why, from the point of view of the Bible, it is clearly said that man must have one word: let your yes be yes, let your no be no. Now, as I said earlier on the question of the third term, it is not for me to discuss this but to pray that our Senegal continues to experience a better tomorrow devoid of political calculations because it is sure and certain that a will can be atrophied by higher wills which influence us to do things that we did not wish to do or that we did not want to do. Always in the Bible, there is this wise man called Qohelet who makes clear-sighted, pertinent and realistic remarks: he says there is a time for everything. A time to live, there is a time to die. There is a time to laugh, there is a time to cry, there is a time to dance. There is a time to stop. But also there is a time to leave because one comes. The time to leave should not be stretched and tense as desired. You simply have to know how to leave with your head held high, especially since it is God who chooses, elects and beyond our citizen cards, I always see the hand of God for the good of Senegal. So long live Senegal, and may we always continue to live in peace and tranquility.

Both in the Koran and in the Bible, the word given is a sacred word and is endowed with a moral and societal value. And probably it decides, on its own, the third candidacy of President Macky Sall. As much to say it here and now, the third candidacy of Macky Sall, on the moral, ethical and religious level is far from having the consent of our religious guides. It is the least we can say !