By Mark John and Diadie Ba
DAKAR (Reuters) – Senegalese presidential challenger Macky Sall is hoping that the lure of tax-free rice will help him win over voters in Sunday’s election run-off, in which he is seeking to end incumbent Abdoulaye Wade’s 12-year rule.
The proposition may seem trivial. But in a country where rising food costs mean some households spend half their income to ensure a daily communal bowl of rice and sauce, the ex-premier believes he is tapping into genuine voter concerns.
“To my mind, a product as strategic as rice should benefit from a complete waiver of taxes. It is a national vittle and this is something we can really do to help our population,” Sall told Reuters on the trail of his campaign due to end on Friday.
Senegal is unique on the West African mainland in not having seen a coup or civil war since independence from France in 1960. Sunday’s vote will be watched more keenly abroad after neighbouring Mali was plunged into chaos this week by an army putsch.
Last month’s first round left the octogenarian Wade and his former liberal ally Sall, 50, head and shoulders above the rest of the field but both short of the absolute majority needed for an outright win. Wade scored 35 percent to Sall’s 27 percent.
While Sall has won endorsements from other candidates, Wade is aiming to extend his 12 years in power by wooing the many Senegalese who did not vote in February and by courting religious leaders who wield strong influence in this Muslim country.
After first-round campaigning was dominated by the bitter row over Wade’s legal right to seek a third term – triggering street violence in which at least six died – Sall has sought to steer the run-off debate towards policy.
His manifesto includes a revamp of Senegal’s outage-prone energy sector and renewed efforts to end a simmering rebellion in the southern Casamance region that was once a tourist hotspot.
But with many Senegalese citing the rising cost of living as their prime concern, it is Sall’s pledge to lower the price of rice and other basic necessities which could be the main draw in a country where average income per head is around $100 a month.
VOTE-WINNER OR GIMMICK?
While Senegal grows some rice, locals have developed such a taste for imported Asian “broken rice” that it is preferred for national dishes such as the fish-based “thiebou dieune”.
Adepts swear the low-grade fractured rice tastes better and is cheaper. But the price of 50-kg sacks have leapt 50 percent in recent months to 25,000 CFA, hit like other staples by rising global demand, tight supplies and changing weather patterns.
“By removing customs duties we can shave 12-15 percent off the price,” predicted Sall, pledging to recoup lost tax revenues by inflicting an austerity cure on ministerial and presidential running costs, which he alleges have soared during Wade’s rule.
Sall, a trained geologist whose first cabinet post was as Wade’s energy minister in 2001 and who was prime minister in 2004-7, said he would cut prices of other basics ranging from cooking oil to the sugar needed for the cloyingly sweet local tea at the heart of Senegalese social occasions.
While his pledges have attracted some public interest, it remains to be seen whether they will win over voters. Wade’s camp dismiss them as gimmicks and say the Senegalese will gain more from the incumbent’s road and airport infrastructure drive.
But while Wade dreams of turning Senegal into a regional commerce hub – and in 2010 decked the capital Dakar out with an “African Renaissance” monument slightly bigger than New York’s Statue of Liberty – Sall said Senegal’s needs are more basic.
“While those in power spend their time building monuments and motorways, the ordinary Senegalese still has trouble getting access to drinking water, healthcare and education,” said Sall, who plans longer-term investment in a renewable energy sector.
Both candidates have said they cannot envisage defeat in Sunday’s run-off, paving the way for a possible dispute when polling booth returns start giving a picture of the result by Monday or Tuesday.
While Wade this week called the prospect of his defeat an “absurd hypothesis”, Sall warned that anything but his victory would trigger an immediate reaction on the streets.
“It’s not me that will sort that problem out – it will be the people,” he predicted.