On March 19th Dakar, together with a number of other towns, witnessed several parallel pro- and anti-government demonstrations marking the 11th anniversary of the alternance, the change of government that brought the president, Abdoulaye Wade, and the Parti démocratique sénégalais (PDS) to power. Generally demonstrations went peacefully, despite some isolated episodes of violence. Some local pro-government commentators hailed the absence of significant clashes as an expression of the maturity of Senegalese democracy and the government's tolerance of popular mobilisation, having permitted the demonstrations to appease protestors, while the president urged his supporters to avoid celebrations (ostensibly for reasons of austerity, but in reality to avert possible clashes between the two camps). A few thousand pro-Wade supporters showed up (the government claimed 100,000), bussed in from outside the city to the presidential palace near where the anti-Wade protests had taken place in the central square amid a substantial police presence, which had also been felt around the city days before the demonstrations. Perhaps by chance, the demonstrations coincided with a significant improvement in power supply in many areas of Dakar hitherto affected by frequent power cuts, presumably as a result of the government's effort to minimise public anger ahead of the mobilisations.

After months of mounting social tension (March 2011, The political scene) against the background of events in North Africa, there were some fears that the government could lose control of the situation. This remains unlikely, however, and the protests' relative peacefulness demonstrates the political stability that Senegal still enjoys despite the power cuts and the high price of basic necessities. Mr Wade nevertheless faces a difficult year as the presidential elections near in February 2012, given his waning urban popularity and increasing fragmentation within the PDS. However, all is not lost; the local press has revealed manoeuvres to secure votes through tactical changes in the organisation and distribution of electoral lists and the appointment of key allies in the strategic Direction de l'automatisation du fichier. Moreover, the fact that the opposition coalition, Benno Siggil Senegal, has still not decided whether to field one single or several competing candidates for the presidential elections also plays in Mr Wade's favour. If a consensus is reached on a popular single candidate its chances of success would increase substantially, possibly enough to compensate-through avoiding fragmentation of the vote-for the president's electoral manoeuvres.