2012 Senegalese parliamentary election

Parliamentary elections were held in Senegal on 1 July 2012 to elect the 150 members of the National Assembly. The result was a landslide 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]

2012 Senegalese parliamentary election
Senegal
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All 150 seats in the National Assembly
75 seats needed for a majority
Turnout36.67%
Party Leader Vote % Seats
BBY Macky Sall 53.06 119
PDS Abdoulaye Wade 15.23 12
Bokk Gis Gis 7.30 4
Bes Du Nakk 5.78 4
MRDS 3.60 2
PVD 2.47 2
URD 1.12 1
MPS/FAXAS 1.11 1
CPJE 1.06 1
Tekki 2012 1.05 1
DSTC 0.96 1
Leeral Coalition 0.91 1
AJ/PADS 0.81 1
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.

Background

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Changes to the electoral law passed in 2010 included introducing mandatory gender parity, with 50% of candidates on party lists required to be women.[2] Researchers Barrel Gueye and Selly Ba attributed the gender parity law to what they see as the third wave of Senegalese feminism.[3] 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.[4]

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.[5]

Results

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As a result of the new law on equal representation on party lists, 64 women were elected to the Assembly.[1][6]

 
PartyVotes%Seats
United in Hope1,040,89953.06119
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 Coalition12,9220.660
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
Total1,961,776100.00150
Valid votes1,961,77699.64
Invalid/blank votes7,0760.36
Total votes1,968,852100.00
Registered voters/turnout5,368,78336.67
Source: African Elections Database

The United in Hope coalition included the Alliance for the Republic.[7]

Aftermath

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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.[8] Niasse received 126 votes against 17 votes for Sarr; there were three blank votes.[9] Eight vice-presidents were elected, including Awa Guèye as First Vice-President and Moustapha Cissé Lô as Second Vice-President.[10] 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".[11]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Senegal's President Macky Sall wins national assembly landslide BBC News, 5 July 2012
  2. ^ a b c Women to get equal shot in Senegal elections Jakarta Globe 1 July 2012
  3. ^ Barrel Gueye; Selly Ba (7 July 2021), Senegalese Feminism Across Generations: From Radicalism to a More Inclusive Feminism, Heinrich Böll Foundation, Wikidata Q125142417, archived from the original on 25 March 2024
  4. ^ A first white woman stands in Senegal's elections[permanent dead link] The Sun Daily, 1 July 2012
  5. ^ Technocrat to be Senegal’s new prime minister Al Jazeera, 3 April 2012
  6. ^ Elections Législatives au Sénégal: le nombre de femmes députées a presque doublé (in French), UN Women, 12 July 2012, Wikidata Q125176572, archived from the original on 27 March 2024
  7. ^ Ba, Diadie (1 July 2012), "Senegal's Sall seen winning parliament vote", Reuters, archived from the original on 4 March 2016
  8. ^ "Senegal's Niasse elected parliament speaker", AFP, 31 July 2012.
  9. ^ "Moustapha Niasse élu président de l'Assemblée nationale", Agence de Presse Sénégalaise, 30 July 2012 (in French).
  10. ^ "Les vice-présidents de l'Assemblée nationale élus" Archived 2013-04-18 at archive.today, Agence de Presse Sénégalaise, 30 July 2012 (in French).
  11. ^ "Absence de l'opposition : Fada dénonce une entorse à la tradition parlementaire" Archived 2014-08-29 at the Wayback Machine, Agence de Presse Sénégalaise, 30 July 2012 (in French).