Elections in Senegal: 2024 Snap Legislative Elections
The Republic of Senegal is scheduled to conduct snap legislative elections on Sunday, November 17, 2024. During this election, citizens will elect 165 members of the National Assembly for a five-year term. Following a six-month tenure, President Bassirou Diomaye Faye dissolved the National Assembly on September 12, 2024, citing challenges in collaborating with the opposition-led assembly. The previous legislative elections were held in July 2022 and according to the Senegalese Constitution, presidents have the authority to dissolve the National Assembly after it has been convened for two years, a deadline that was reached on September 12, 2024.
In preparation for this significant election, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) provides Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on Elections in Senegal: 2024 Snap Legislative Elections.
Learn more about IFES's programs in Senegal and follow @IFES1987 and @IFESAfrica on Twitter.
Additionally, visit IFES's Election Guide for the most comprehensive and timely verified election information available online.
Election Snapshot
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Election Day: November 17, 2024
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Registered voters: 7,371,890, including 3,708,218 men (50.3%) and 3,663,672 women (49.7%). 7,033,850 voters are registered in Senegal and 338,040 abroad.
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Polling stations: 16,440 (15,633 in Senegal and 807 abroad)
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Senegalese voters will elect the 165 members of the National Assembly for a five-year term.
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Candidate Lists: 41 registered political parties, coalitions, or independent entities.
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Campaigning began on October 27 and concludes on November 15.
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Domestic and international observers: 506 (446 national and 60 international observers).
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Polls open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
The snap legislative elections will determine the composition of the National Assembly. While the election of President Bassirou Diomaye Faye in March 2024 marked a significant shift in Senegal’s political history, his party did not hold a majority in the National Assembly elected in July 2022. In this context, on September 12, President Diomaye Faye dissolved the National Assembly, as he needed a parliamentary majority to implement the ambitious program of governance and social reforms announced during his presidential campaign. President Diomaye Faye dissolved the assembly as early as allowed by the constitution, i.e. two years into the incumbent assembly’s mandate. The elections will be essential for ensuring political stability and citizens’ trust in the democratic process.
The Ministry of the Interior registered 41 parties, coalitions, and independent entities to run in the November 17 elections. The Constitutional Council subsequently confirmed them as the final candidates’ lists running in the elections.
The Electoral Code addresses accessibility for voters with disabilities, and local government authorities take measures to ensure compliance with those provisions of the code. Article 80 allows voters with disabilities to request the assistance of a voter of their choice or a polling staff member to cast a ballot. Moreover, if disabled voters are unable to access their regular polling stations, they can vote at the most accessible polling station available in their voting location (Article 69). This new provision is a significant step toward making elections more accessible to people with disabilities.
The 165 members of the National Assembly are elected to five-year terms through a parallel voting system, with 112 seats allocated through a majoritarian system and 53 seats through a proportional system based on the total number of votes for each list at the national level.
Under the majoritarian component, citizens will elect 112 candidates (97 national and 15 abroad) in 54 multi-member electoral districts (46 national and eight out of the country) based on a party block vote system. According to that system, the list that receives the highest number of votes takes all the seats in the district. Each district elects between one and seven members, depending on its population. This includes 15 seats for diaspora constituencies, each represented by one to three members.
Under the proportional component, 53 seats are allocated to parties, coalitions, and independent lists based on the votes they receive nationally, through a proportional representation system using the largest remainder method.
Voters cast only one ballot paper, which shows the national proportional list of the party or coalition on one side, and their majoritarian lists on the other
The 338,040 Senegalese voters registered abroad vote in or outside diplomatic premises for 15 seats across eight majoritarian districts, each electing between 1 and 3 seats; these are: North Africa (1 seat), West Africa (3), Central Africa (2), Southern Africa (1), Southern Europe (3), West-Center-North Europe (3), America-Oceania (1), and Asia-Middle-East (1). Their votes also count for the proportional component.
Elections in Senegal are governed by the Constitution, the Electoral Code (last amended in August 2023), and several decrees that determine, for example, the date of the elections and the number of seats in each constituency. The Gender Parity Law (2010) establishes equal representation of men and women in elected positions and prescribes that candidate lists follow a vertical rank-order (zebra) system.
Senegalese law allows any registered voter to run as a candidate in legislative elections, subject to certain conditions and requirements. Including, Senegalese nationality, 25 years of age, no criminal record, however, high-level civil servants (judges, prosecutors, Regional Governors, Head of the Treasury) are ineligible for candidacy. Candidates may be submitted by a legally constituted political party, coalition of legally constituted political parties, or an entity grouping independent candidates.
A 2021 amendment to the Electoral Code requires electoral contestants for legislative elections to collect support signatures from between 0.5 percent and 0.8 percent of registered voters, with at least 1,000 signatures of support from each region of Senegal. However, on July 10, 2024, the Constitutional Council granted an exemption to this provision for the November 17, elections, as the short timeframe for holding snap elections was insufficient for the signature collection process to take place.
The Gender Parity Law (2010) established the equal representation of men and women in elected positions. For legislative elections, Article L149 of Electoral Code provides that each candidate list should respect parity between women and men. Moreover, the vertical rank order rule (zebra system) for the distribution of female and male candidates is compulsory: Female and male candidates appear in alternating order throughout the list. In the outgoing National Assembly elected in 2022, the proportion of women deputes was 46.1 percent (77 of 165).
Senegal has a dual structure for election management and oversight. The election management body is the Ministry of Interior, which organizes national and local elections and referenda through the Directorate-General for Elections (Direction Générale des Élections – DGE). Across the country, administrative authorities are responsible for the practical organization of the elections.
The Electoral Code also creates an Autonomous National Electoral Commission (Commission Électorale Nationale Autonome – CENA), which is responsible for monitoring the elections. The CENA is composed of 12 members appointed by presidential decree after consultation with various institutions. The CENA has representatives at all administrative levels, and they are present in every polling station on Election Day. The CENA issues comprehensive reports after each election on the conduct of the process.
According to Article 83 of Senegal’s Electoral Code, vote counting takes place in polling stations after the polls close. Polling staff open the ballot box and check the number of envelopes. If the number of envelopes is greater than the number of signatures on the signature sheet, this is noted in the minutes. Members of the polling staff then appoint at least four vote counters from among the voters who are present.
One vote counter removes the ballot from each envelope and passes it to another vote counter, who reads it aloud. At least two vote counters record the votes, using sheets prepared for this purpose. All ballots are counted twice. According to Articles 85 and 86 of the Electoral Code, the polling station chairperson reads the results aloud, and they are immediately displayed outside the polling station. The results are recorded in the minutes.
All poll workers must sign the minutes and note, where appropriate, their observations, complaints, and disputes. Each polling station staff member must receive a copy of the minutes. The original minutes and any annexed documents are sent to the chair of the district-level tally center (the Departmental Committee for the Counting of Votes, Commission Départementale de Recensement des Votes, CDRV). The Autonomous National Electoral Commission (Commission Électorale Nationale Autonome, CENA) also receives a copy of the minutes under seal.
Article 88 of the Electoral Code states that the CDRV is to tabulate the votes of the department as it receives them and must publish the results no later than midnight on the Tuesday following balloting (in this case, by November 19, 2024). The National Committee for the Counting of Votes (Commission Nationale des Recensement des Votes, CNRV) receives results coming from all CDRVs in-country and abroad and runs another tabulation. The CNRV then announces the provisional results.
Resources
Constitution of Senegal
Electoral Code
Autonomous National Electoral Commission (Commission Électorale Nationale Autonome)
Directorate General for Elections (Direction Générale des Élections)
Senegal Snap Elections
The United States Agency for International Development Elections Support Program in Senegal aims to help civil society organizations facilitate dialogue, monitor elections, and conduct civic and voter education. The program also supports election management bodies to reinforce specific aspects of election administration to promote a fair and credible democratic process.
As part of the Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening, IFES is working to build the capacity, inclusiveness, and independence of Senegal’s electoral institution, the Directorate General for Elections (Direction Générale des Élections, DGE), under the Ministry of Interior. IFES supports the DGE to strengthen its institutional capacity and enhance human resources, communications, training, and voter education. In addition, IFES has partnered with six universities to create a network of youth peace ambassadors to promote peaceful electoral participation in 2024.
These FAQs reflect decisions made by the Constitution and Electoral Code, to the best of our knowledge. This document does not represent any International Foundation for Electoral Systems policy or technical recommendations.
These FAQs are made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The information herein is provided by the author(s) and does not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.