SENEGAL: Presidential elections, 26 Feb 2012
Description of government structure:
* Chief of State: President Abdoulaye WADE
* Head of Government: Prime Minister Soulayemane Ndene NDIAYE
* Assembly: Senegal has a bicameral Parliament (Parlement) consisting of the Senate (Sénat) with 100 seats and the National Assembly (Assemblée Nationale) with 150 seats.
Description of electoral system:
* The President is elected by absolute majority vote through a two-round system to serve a 5-year term.
* The Prime Minister is appointed by the president.
* In the Senate (Sénat), 35 members are indirectly elected by an electoral college to serve 5-year terms and 65 members are appointed by the president to serve 5-year terms*. In the National Assembly (Assemblée Nationale), 60 members are elected through a closed-list proportional representation system to serve 5-year terms and 90 members are elected by plurality vote in single-member constituencies to serve 5-year terms.
“I will promote women's rights,” says Senegal’s President-Elect
27 Mar 2012 - In an exclusive discussion with women’s organizations the day after he emerged as the winner of Senegal’s Presidential election on 25 March President-Elect Macky Sall outlined his vision for improving the lives of Senegalese women.
“I will listen to women. I will respect and promote their rights. You can count on me”, he said in a meeting in Dakar with the Women’s Platform for Peaceful Elections in Senegal (known as ETTU Jamm or Plateforme de veille des Femmes pour les elections apaisées au Sénégal). The organization, which is supported by UN Women, aims to prevent conflict through mediation in Senegal, and monitors elections from a gender perspective through a platform called the Situation Room.
For the full story, see UN Women.
Senegal's new president won
Senegal's new president won the runoff election in a landslide, garnering nearly twice as many votes as the incumbent of 12 years, according to provisional results released Tuesday.
Senegalese officials announced that Macky Sall had won 65.80 percent of ballots cast in Sunday's runoff ballot, benefiting from a united opposition in the second round of voting.
Incumbent President Abdoulaye Wade won 34.20 percent of the vote — slightly less than his percentage in the first round last month. It marked a sharp drop-off from the last presidential race in 2007, when he easily won the 50 percent needed to avoid a runoff.
View the full story on ABC.
Senegal: Protests As Obasanjo Fails to Broker Truce | Feb. 6
As Senegal holds its presidential election Sunday, mediatory role of former President Olusegun Obasanjo in the political crisis plaguing the country suffered a setback last night as anti-President Abdoulaye Wade protesters turned down Obasanjo's proposed two-year in office for Wade and ordered the former Nigerian President to leave their country.
"For many years, we all wrote and spoke about Senegal as being different," said Chris Fomunyoh, a senior associate at the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs in Washington. "Now I think President Wade has deprived us of being able to use that phrase anymore. All of the ills that are undermining the continent are playing out in Senegal."
For the full story, see All Africa.
New gender parity law will be implemented in these elections
Senegal amended its electoral law in 2010, and with the election law of 2012 there will be requirements for equal numbers of males and females in the upcoming elections. There will also be a 40% quota for women in the Senate. More information here
“I will promote women's rights,” says Senegal’s President-Elect
27 Mar 2012 - In an exclusive discussion with women’s organizations the day after he emerged as the winner of Senegal’s Presidential election on 25 March President-Elect Macky Sall outlined his vision for improving the lives of Senegalese women.
“I will listen to women. I will respect and promote their rights. You can count on me”, he said in a meeting in Dakar with the Women’s Platform for Peaceful Elections in Senegal (known as ETTU Jamm or Plateforme de veille des Femmes pour les elections apaisées au Sénégal). The organization, which is supported by UN Women, aims to prevent conflict through mediation in Senegal, and monitors elections from a gender perspective through a platform called the Situation Room.
For the full story, see UN Women.
Senegal's new president won
Senegal's new president won the runoff election in a landslide, garnering nearly twice as many votes as the incumbent of 12 years, according to provisional results released Tuesday.
Senegalese officials announced that Macky Sall had won 65.80 percent of ballots cast in Sunday's runoff ballot, benefiting from a united opposition in the second round of voting.
Incumbent President Abdoulaye Wade won 34.20 percent of the vote — slightly less than his percentage in the first round last month. It marked a sharp drop-off from the last presidential race in 2007, when he easily won the 50 percent needed to avoid a runoff.
View the full story on ABC.
Senegal: Protests As Obasanjo Fails to Broker Truce | Feb. 6
As Senegal holds its presidential election Sunday, mediatory role of former President Olusegun Obasanjo in the political crisis plaguing the country suffered a setback last night as anti-President Abdoulaye Wade protesters turned down Obasanjo's proposed two-year in office for Wade and ordered the former Nigerian President to leave their country.
"For many years, we all wrote and spoke about Senegal as being different," said Chris Fomunyoh, a senior associate at the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs in Washington. "Now I think President Wade has deprived us of being able to use that phrase anymore. All of the ills that are undermining the continent are playing out in Senegal."
For the full story, see All Africa.
New gender parity law will be implemented in these elections
Senegal amended its electoral law in 2010, and with the election law of 2012 there will be requirements for equal numbers of males and females in the upcoming elections. There will also be a 40% quota for women in the Senate. More information here