Yes We Can!

"Les locales," the local elections here in Senegal, occured last Sunday. There was a lot of tension-- buses burnt at the university, riots, some injuries-- because of a general sentiment of discontent with President Abdouleye Wade. Dakar was a hotspot for tension because President Wade's son, Karim Wade, was running for office. Prior to the election, President Wade had used taxpayers' money to campaign for Karim, and the Senegalese people did NOT appreciate that.

When President Wade was first elected in 2000, he represented change for Senegal: a new era of prosperity and employment. Because little change has actually occured here, most of the Senegalese I've talked politics with are people who supported Wade, campaigned for him even, but now want him out of office. "Il pense qu'il soit un roi," my homestay dad told me, "son téte est trop gros." He thinks he is a king; he's gotten a big head.

In Dakar, one of the campaigns rivaling that of Karim Wade's struck a bell that reminded me of Obama's well-loved mantra: Yes We Can. I guess the Senegalese version is "osons changer." Translation: Let's dare to change. The American people aren't the only ones calling for dramatic change. It's all just one big cycle of revolution, discontent, and more revolution.

Karim Wade lost in his precinct by a landslide. The underdog campaign, the politicians my Senegalese family support, won. My mother danced in front of the TV and kissed the political fliers stacked on our living room table. Karim Wade's major defeat illustrates a big dissatisfaction with the regime of President Wade, so the national elections in 2010 are sure to be dramatic and full of turmoil.