'Our mind is always back home': Senegalese to vote in presidential election from Ohio
Days after the Ohio primaries, some Ohioans will go to the polls for a different election — this time, to choose leaders more than 4,000 miles away.
The West African nation of Senegal is organizing polling centers in Columbus, Dayton and Cincinnati for its expatriates to vote in a closely watched presidential election. Up to 14,000 eligible Senegalese citizens are expected to cast ballots at 23 polling centers in Ohio, New York, California and 15 other states, Consul General Elhadji Ndao said.
Columbus’ polling center, like others, will serve Senegalese American dual citizens and other Senegalese people living in the U.S. It will be located at a charter school along Hamilton Road on the city’s Southeast Side.
Moussa Anne, a poll worker who lives in nearby Groveport, said Senegalese people make an effort to participate in their democracy from afar.
“We’re here (in Ohio), but our mind is always back home,” Anne told The Dispatch. “In order for us to be in a good condition in the U.S., we have to make sure that our family back home are in good conditions. … The way to do that is to participate and vote.”
Votes from U.S. polling stations will be tallied locally, and the results sent to Senegal within 72 hours, Ndao said.
Like Senegal, the U.S. also allows its expatriates to vote — by mail, although embassies offer to facilitate the process. About 2.8 million American expatriates are eligible to vote, though in the 2020 general elections, only about 7.8% of them did so, according to the Federal Voting Assistance Program.
International observers have been watching the elections in Senegal, a country of 17 million, closely. Generally considered a stable democracy, Senegal has never experienced a coup since it gained independence from the French in 1960 — even as many neighboring countries have.
Some observers feared Senegal’s democracy was at risk after outgoing President Macky Sall, who is term-bound and has been in power since 2012, tried to postpone elections earlier this year. That decision was met with widespread street protests and was overruled by the country’s Constitutional Council.
Sall’s Alliance for the Republic Party is fielding another candidate, Amadou Ba, against 18 other candidates from a range of backgrounds.
Alioune Gueye, a Columbus-area accountant, is a coordinator for a think tank aligned with the leading opposition party, African Patriots of Senegal for Work, Ethics and Fraternity (known by its French acronym, PASTEF). It has been vocal about alleged tax-dodging by foreign corporations in Senegal and alleged corruption by Sall’s administration.
Gueye said his party wants to promote Senegalese-owned businesses and create more jobs — especially for young people, so they don't have to venture abroad for employment.
“We have about 65% of our population who are under 30. We need to make sure that we have programs that can employ these people and get them out of poverty,” he said.
One of PASTEF’s leaders, Ousmane Sonko, has been barred from running for president because of a criminal conviction, but PASTEF is fielding his ally, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, in the race.
A Columbus-area representative for Sall’s party did not respond to an interview request from The Dispatch.
Anne said he wants to support his community and country of birth by working at the polls.
“You have to be independent; you have to be neutral. You cannot join any political party,” he said, referring to his duties.
“And as long as you are Senegalese, and you have the right documentation to vote, they really want you to participate,” he said.
Peter Gill covers immigration, New American communities and religion for the Dispatch in partnership with Report for America. You can support work like his with a tax-deductible donation to Report for America at: bit.ly/3fNsGaZ.
pgill@dispatch.com
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Senegalese expatriates to vote in presidential election from Ohio
