Senegalese parliamentary election, 2012

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politics and government of
Senegal

Parliamentary elections were held in Senegal on 1 July 2012. The result was a victory for the United in Hope coalition supporting newly elected President Macky Sall, which won 119 of the 150 seats in the National Assembly.[1] Voter turnout in the election was just 37%.[1]

Background

Changes to the electoral law passed in 2010 made it mandatory for women to make up 50% of candidates on party lists.[2] A total of 24 lists were submitted for the election, with over 7,000 candidates,[2] including Laurence Gavron, the first white woman to run for election to Parliament.[3]

Of the 150 seats in the National Assembly, 60 were elected through proportional representation and 90 in constituencies.[2]

The election had originally been scheduled for 17 June 2012, but President Macky Sall announced a change of date after saying there was not enough time to prepare for it and that he had consulted the opposition Senegalese Democratic Party (PDS) on the move.[4]

Results

As a result of the new law on equal representation on party lists, 64 women were elected to the Assembly.[1]

Party Votes % Seats
United in Hope coalition[a]1,040,89953.06119
Senegalese Democratic Party298,84615.2312
Bokk Gis Gis143,1807.304
Citizen Movement for National Reform113,3215.784
Republican Movement for Socialism and Democracy70,6553.602
Party for Truth and Development48,5532.472
Union for Democratic Renewal21,9641.121
Senegalese Patriotic Movement21,8681.111
Patriotic Convergence for Justice and Equity20,7621.061
Party for the Emergence of Citizens20,6711.051
Deggo Souxali Transport ak Commerce18,8590.961
Leeral Coalition17,7910.911
And-Jëf/African Party for Democracy and Socialism15,8890.811
Democratic Alliance14,8410.760
And Taxawal Askan Wi coalition12,9220.470
Wallu Askan Senegal coalition12,0440.610
Rally of the Ecologists of Senegal11,7830.600
Salam coalition10,8550.550
Authentic Socialist Party9,5770.490
Lii Dal Na Xel coalition9,2160.470
Taxawu Askan Wi Party8,1070.410
Synergy for Progress and Democracy7,3260.370
Allied Coalition of the People6,7170.340
Citizen Democracy5,1300.260
Invalid/blank votes7,076
Total1,968,852100150
Registered voters/turnout5,368,78336.67
Source: African Elections Database

a The United in Hope coalition included the Alliance for the Republic.[5]

Aftermath

The pro-Sall United in Hope coalition won an overwhelming majority of seats in the National Assembly, 119 out of 150, while the PDS saw its share of seats plummet to only 12. The remaining 19 seats were distributed amongst an assortment of small parties. On 30 July 2012, one of Sall's most prominent allies, Moustapha Niasse, was elected as President of the National Assembly; he defeated a PDS deputy, Oumar Sarr.[6] Niasse received 126 votes against 17 votes for Sarr; there were three blank votes.[7] Eight vice-presidents were elected, including Awa Guèye as First Vice-President and Moustapha Cissé Lô as Second Vice-President.[8] None of the vice-president posts went to a deputy from the opposition, leading it to complain that the majority had excluded it and ignored parliamentary tradition. While the opposition Liberals and Democrats Parliamentary Group was too few in number to guarantee it one of the posts, the opposition nevertheless felt that it should have been given a post for reasons of tradition and "dignity".[9]

References

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