Final Resolution of Foundation of Senegal Left Forces

This is the final resolution of the meeting that brought together various left forces in Senegal, a country of 14 million people in West Africa that won its independence from France in 1960. The resolution was sent to Workers World for distribution by Fallou Gueye, a member of the Assembly of African Workers, one of the initiating parties. Gueye writes: “Meeting in a National Conference on Feb. 21-22, 2015, the Senegalese left forces have decided to create a Confederation of Left Forces referred to as the Confederation for Democracy and Socialism. There was a strong mobilization in response to the invitation of the initiating parties: The Democratic League (LD), the Party of Independence and Labour (PIT), the Assembly of African Workers, Senegal/Penco Reew (RTA/S), the Union for Democracy and Federalism (UDF/Mbooli mi}
, National Democratic Rally (RND), Wi Yoonu Askan (YAW). A left party from nearby Guinea — the Democratic Party of Guinea (Conakry) — and the Sankarist Party of Burkina Faso, also took part in the founding meeting of the Confederation, which places a strong emphasis on the Pan-Africanist orientation of the newly created organization.”

FINAL RESOLUTION

The participants in the Foundation of Left Forces held on 21 and 22 February 2015 in Dakar,

Recalling the process that led to the Foundation of the Left Forces;

Analyzing the context

Noted internationally by:

– The actions of imperialism and its neoliberal and capitalist system;

– The struggle of peoples for national and social liberation in Latin America and Europe;

– The rise of obscurantist forces in parts of the world.

Characterized at the African level by:

– The proliferation of armed conflicts and civil wars that tend to divide the continent (South Sudan, northern Mali and Central Africa);

– The development of terrorism in Africa with Boko Haram in Nigeria.

The emergence of the new political regimes arising from the peoples’ struggles (Burkina Faso, Guinea Bissau).

Noted at the national level by:

– The ushering in of the second alternate government, which despite some efforts in the fight against corruption and in tracking down stolen assets, along with some measures taken in the social domain and some expected reforms, still delays in putting into effect the broken promises with regard to changing the system;

– Desperate attempts by the opposition to destabilize the country;

– And by the question of peace and security in Casamance.

Recalling the various experiences of unification of the left forces in Senegal:

– Determined to fight against the fragmentation of left forces;

– Strengthened by the united will to move forward, by consolidating the pluralist dynamic that was built on convergences meant to be consolidated;

– Taking full account of the responsibility of the left in the current situation and the future of Senegal and the entire African continent;

Decide

To create a confederation of left forces called the “Confederation for Democracy and Socialism,” which will be open, cleaned of sectarianism and dogmatism, and based on respect for the diversity of its component parts.

1. Regarding the Guidelines of the Confederation

The participants:

– Adopt the theses set out in the guidance document defining the identity of the Senegalese Left as historically constituted, in its plurality, around the struggle for the completion of Independence with the goal of achieving national sovereignty in all areas (political, military, economic, financial, cultural, etc.);

– Believe that the social base of the Left Forces is still the working class and the peasantry, the laborers in the informal sector and all sectors dominated and exploited our society, whose legitimate struggles the left must support;

– Believe that the Confederation is open to all the forces that agree with the policies, programmatic platform and statutes validated by the Foundation congress;

– Affirm, in this vein, the Confederation’s choice for the democratic conquest of power in order to achieve a program of social transformation in the exclusive service of the people.

2. Regarding how to put into effect the national Foundation conference’s conclusions, the participants:

– Adopt the program based on the conclusions of the National Foundation Conference that define the strategic policy recommendations for the re-founding of the republic;

– Agree on the need for adoption by referendum of the draft Constitution proposed by the NCRI to ensure the strengthening of the democratic, secular, social, united and decentralized rule of law, operating on the basis of a separation and balance of powers;

– Consider that economic patriotism should be the basis for all strategic orientations in economic governance, with the aim of gaining our food, economic and monetary sovereignty as part of a peoples’ ECOWAS;

– Affirm that the values of ethics, fairness and transparency should be applied to the management of public funds and the national heritage;

– Believe that regarding social governance, the Confederation shall promote:

* The emergence of a Senegalese citizen fully assuming his or her cultural heritage, open to Africa and the rest of the world and cultivating the virtues of patriotism, honesty, tolerance, discipline and work ethic;

* An active and conscious Senegalese citizenship with the exercise of its rights, but also duties and responsibilities, for influencing the structural reforms needed in all sectors (education, health, culture, sport, social dialogue and social protection);

– Recommend the deepening and developing of the issues insufficiently addressed by the National Conference, such as the security issue.

3. As regards the structure and functioning of the Confederation

The participants adopted the statutes and the following organizational structure:

– A national confederal conference shall meet every six months.

– A National Leaders Conference, which meets once a month in ordinary session and whenever necessary in extraordinary session.

– A regional conference every six months, a departmental conference every three months, a monthly communal conference.

– National and sector-wide trade-union Conferences.

– Conferences for youths, cadres, women and elders.

– The national and local conferences of elected representatives.

– A conference of the Diaspora.

Participants recommend that the conference leaders develop internal rules and a code of conduct for the confederation.

4. Concerning the strategy for mobilization and popular intervention, participants

– Have highlighted the fact that the democratic way of access to power for which the Confederation opted requires extensive work to bring the program before the masses, particularly targeting workers in cities and the countryside and the dominated and exploited layers of society;

– Request, to this end, that all the structures of the confederation reflect on the specific communication strategies for the organization and mobilization of different targets (youths, women);

– Emphasize the need to have the appropriate means to achieve the objectives of the Confederation.

In conclusion, the participants call upon:

– The components and members of the confederation to cultivate within themselves a tolerance and mutual respect among peers, so as to give shape to their desire to build an open and modern Confederation, surpassing qualitatively the existing unity of action in place until now;

– All progressive and democratic forces who signed onto the National Conference conclusions to join the confederation;

– The African people and organizations to work towards the construction of economic integration and political unity, which is an indispensable basis for development of the continent.

Finally, the participants express their solidarity with the peoples in struggle in the world.

Written in Dakar, Senegal

On Sunday, Feb. 22, 2015

Translation: WW managing editor John Catalinotto.