More than 7 million Senegalese are called to the polls this Sunday, November 17, for early legislative elections after the dissolution of the National Assembly in September by new President Bassirou Diomaye Faye. 165 seats of deputies are at stake. The objective of the new authorities is to make a clean sweep of the current Parliament, still owned by ex-president Macky Sall, to be able to implement their program and transform the country as they have. promised.
The president Bassirou Diomaye Fayeelected last March, and his prime minister Ousmane Sonko need a three-fifths qualified majority to enforce their program. Because this requires the adoption of several constitutional laws, such as for the creation of a position of vice-president, the reform of justice or the suppression of institutions deemed budget-intensive, reports our correspondent in Dakar, Juliette Dubois.
This vote is also the first electoral test for the ruling party. After seven months in office, will Pastef confirm its presidential score – won in the first round with 54% of the vote – or will we observe an erosion of its electoral base, as the opposition promises? If a certain impatience is felt in the cities, Pastef has obtained support in recent weeks. Among these, many mayors in departments hitherto supported by the old regime such as Podor and Matam in the North-East, reports our correspondent in Dakar, Léa-Lisa Westerhoff.
The opposition presents three lists, but unites in certain localities
Faced with the president’s popular Pastef party, the opposition believes in its chances of keeping its majority: former president Macky Sall returned to the race and presents himself as head of his party’s list. Despite announcing his withdrawal from politics seven months ago, he campaigned remotely: since Morocco where he currently resides.
His former heir apparent and unsuccessful presidential candidate, Amadou Ba, launched a parallel list, as did the former mayor of Dakar, Barthélémy Dias.
In certain departments, such as Dakar, the different opposition forces have concluded allianceshoping to win more seats. This was the case in the departments of Diaspora and Bambey, in the center of the country, representing 17 seats in Parliament. In other departments, an intercoalition will take place, between the movement of Macky Sall and that of the ex-mayor of Dakar.
The principle is to call for a vote for the opposition political group that is best placed… to give yourself a maximum chance of influencing the future National Assembly.
Tense climate, violent knife clashes and HQs burned
The two weeks of campaigning took place in a tense climate, with violence between the president’s camp and that of Dakar mayor Barthélémy Dias. Among the incidents, campaign headquarters were burned and dozens of injured throughout the country.
Violent clashes took place on Monday 11 between supporters of the ruling party and activists of an opposition coalition, with knife wounds. Subsequently, the Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko even called for revengeafter the violent attack… before backpedaling.
From now on, his Minister of the Interior calls on the Senegalese to calm down and ensures that all arrangements are made for the smooth running of the vote.
Since then, 81 people have been arrested. Knives, slingshots and other batons were seized by the police.
These eruptions of violence are recurrent in Senegal during electoral periods. And for Moussa Diaw, professor of political science at Saint-Louis University, this is proof that the stakes of the election are important for the different actors. “ For the executive, the objective is to have a comfortable majority to be able to govern and make important reforms. Given these issues, others also seek to position themselves, there are power struggles. This form of violence is exercised by a certain number of leaders lacking speeches or political offers, who use verbal violence and, unfortunately, physical violence “, he explains.
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A collective of organizations to observe the vote
To ensure the smooth running of the vote, 1,100 civil society observers will travel to polling stations across the country and report any malfunctions. Senegalese civil society benefits from long experience in election observation.
In a room of the Radisson hotel, large tables have been installed to make it the headquarters of the observation mission of the collective of civil society organizations for the elections (Cosce). Around thirty structures are grouped there.
The information collected in the polling stations by the observers will be centralized here… 400 fixed and 700 mobile, deployed throughout the territory. They will check the opening hours of the offices, or the presence of equipment and staff…
“ We can imagine a transfer of voters, for exampleexplains Alassane Seck, president of the Senegalese Human Rights League. It can happen that there is material missing, whether the ink is spilled by accident or on purpose. Or there may be trash cans that are not properly closed.. »
[REPORTAGE] A collective of civil society organizations explains its role as observer
More than 20 years of experience
In the event of malfunctions, Cosce may refer the matter to the Ministry of the Interior or the Autonomous National Electoral Commission (Cena). These organizations benefit from extensive experience in this area. “ We have been observing elections since 2000, explains the coordinator of the Moundiaye Cissé collective. Our first observation was in 2000 and this allowed us to contribute to the first alternation in Senegal. In 2000, it was a tense situation, we had a leading role. »
On Sunday evening, civil society observers will give initial trends in results based on the minutes (PV) published in front of the polling stations. The election will be closely scrutinized, because the European Union, the African Union, the ECOWAS and the UN also deployed observers.
Legislative elections with a complex voting system, simple majority and proportional
More than 7 million voters will elect the 165 deputies of the National Assembly for the next five years. But this election actually combines a complex dual voting system, both with a simple majority in one round for certain seats, and with proportional representation for others.
With our correspondent in Dakar, Léa-Lisa Westerhoff
Of the 165 seats that make up the Parliament, 112 are allocated after a simple majority election in one round: in each of the 46 departments of Senegal and for the 8 constituencies of the diaspora, voters will have to vote for one of the 41 lists of candidates. The list which obtains the most votes will win the constituency and all the seats that make it up. For the Dakar department, for example, seven seats are at stake.
The remaining 53 seats are allocated after a proportional vote. In this case, each of the 41 political groups participating in the election will have to add up all the votes received. Then, an electoral quotient is calculated, obtained by dividing the total number of votes by the 165 seats in Parliament: it allows each party to be allocated the number of seats due to it, depending on the number of times it has reached this quotient.
This system was designed so that smaller, lesser-known political groups could also have a place in Parliament.
Also readElectoral campaign in Senegal: the Civil Forum warns of the increase in cases of violence