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Senegalese successfully protest proposal of change to Constitution, 2011

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Summary

Abdoulaye Wade became the democratically elected President of Senegal in 2000. The country was one of Africa’s most stable democracies, and had never experienced a coup. During his term as President, the Constitution was changed to limit Presidents to two terms. In 2009, Wade announced that he would not run for a third time. However, his government still suffered from low popularity. Frequent power outages, government scandals, and economic problems bred popular discontent. [source: nv-database]

Tactics used

Background

These grievances helped prompt the January 2011 creation of Y’en a Marre, which translates to “fed up.” The youth-led group focused on protesting problems in the government and registering voters. Rappers Chieck Omar Cyrille Toure, also known as Thiat, and Mbessane Seck, also known as Kilifeu, founded the group with journalists Fadel Barro and Alioune Sané. Hip-hop played an extremely important role in the operation of Y’en a Marre. Senegal had one of the most vibrant hip-hop scenes on the continent, and it held great popularity with youth. The presence of popular rappers helped mobilize young people. While the movement did not affiliate with any political party, it expressed strong opposition to the Wade regime. [source: nv-database]

What happened

In May 2011, Wade announced that he planned to run for a third term. He said that since the Constitution had been changed to limit Presidents to two term limits during his Presidency, the rule did not apply to him. Regarding his past announcement that he would not run again, Wade issued the famous phrase, “I said it, I can take it back.” The public received Wade’s announcement poorly, but large sections of the population, especially outside major cities, still supported Wade. Protests remained limited as he had not changed the Constitution and the focus remained on legal inquiries into the Constitution. However, on 16 June Wade proposed a two-part change to the Constitution. The first part involved the lowering of the threshold required for Presidential victory from 50% to 25%. Previously, if no candidates received over 50% of the vote there would be a runoff between the top two candidates, but the proposed change would give a candidate with over 25% of the vote the Presidency. Critics saw this as a way to ensure Wade’s victory over a divided opposition. The second part of the proposed change was the creation of a Vice-Presidency. Senegal’s system of government had a President and a Prime Minister, and had never needed a Vice President. Senegalese widely saw Wade’s proposal as a way to ensure that the 85-year-old’s son Karim Wade could succeed his father. Wade’s party had majorities in the House and Senate, and he expected that the measure would pass. However, on 21 June Alioune Tine and Chieck Bambé Dièye held a press conference criticizing the proposal. Tine served as the president of RADDHO, a Senegalese human rights organization, and Dièye was a politician in the Front for Socialism and Democracy and the mayor of the city of Saint-Louis. They launched a campaign under the slogan “Don’t touch my constitution,” and called for political parties, unions, and other associations to join together in opposition to the amendment. They also called for a protest at the National Assembly on 23 June. Y’en a Marre endorsed these call and took up a major organizing role in the protests. Protests took a variety of forms. The largest was the demonstration outside the National Assembly, and estimates place the number of protesters in the hundreds of thousands. Protesters expressed their grievances and chanted the popular slogans “Wade Leave” and “Don’t Touch My Constituti. [source: nv-database]

Key people & organizations

  • Y’en a Marre [source: nv-database]
  • RADDHO [source: nv-database]
  • Chieck Bambe Dieye [source: nv-database]
  • Youth [source: nv-database]
  • opposition parties [source: nv-database]

Outcome

Verdict: won.

Per the source’s scoring rubric, the campaign scored 6 out of 6 points on achieving specific demands/goals, 1 out of 1 points on survival, and 3 out of 3 points on growth — for 10 out of 10 points overall. [source: nv-database]

Lessons

  • Sustained, broad-based nonviolent mobilization can win measurable concessions even against entrenched regimes.
  • Transnational solidarity (regional ECOWAS, AU, UN pressure) amplifies local campaigns against entrenched regimes [source: nv-database]

Sources

Disclaimer: Included as a teaching example of campaign craft, not as endorsement.

Sources & verification

  • nv-database — grounding: primary — license: link-only
  • Built: 2026-07-04 from GNVAD content via T1 balance pipeline.

Last verified: 2026-07-09