SENEGAL       Institutional Situation

  This section has been updated by Mr Boubacar Issa Abdourhamane,
a doctorate student at the CEAN, IEP – Montesquieu University of Bordeaux

Democratic Process

The experiment with political pluralism set out by President Léopold Sédar Senghor under the aegis of the Socialist Party (PS) continued with his former prime Minister, Abdou Diouf, who was faced with the task of managing and, if possible, consolidating the heritage left by his predecessor. This heritage was based on the hegemony of the PS which had survived since the county’s independence and had been achieved by absorbing the only legal opposition party in June 1966 and by the law 76-26 of 16 April 1976, creating a limited multiparty system restricted to just three parties. Under President Senghor, the PS worked as a de facto single party and it was only after Abdou Diouf came to power in December 1980 that Senegal adopted a “real” multiparty system, on 24 April 1981. This was supposed to transform the Parti Socialiste into a true political party rather than the arena for rivalry between competing political barons and for sharing the spoils that it had been until then. Since that date, about fifteen political parties have been created and the political challenge has been one of making the institutions work and of applying the rules of democratic shifts of power in a transparent manner.
What characterised the power of Diouf was his ability to bounce back from difficulty and to consolidate the heritage of Senghor when there was danger around him. He came to power in a position of political weakness (the opposition in general and his main rival Abdoulaye Wade in particular contested his legitimacy) and facing an unprecedented economic crisis made even more acute by the perverse effects of structural adjustment plans (unemployment among graduates, increasing poverty in urban and rural populations and rising social discontent and separatist movements in Casamance), yet Abdou Diouf showed himself to be a skilled politician in controlling the apparatus of the State and renewing the political class. Despite an unfavourable context, he won the presidential elections in February 1983 with 83.5% of the votes. The PS then won the general elections with 79.9% of the votes and 111 out of 120 seats. He was no longer the designated successor of Senghor but the President in his own right, legitimised by the ballot box with the support of powerful brotherhoods of marabouts and in the face of an increasingly fragmented opposition.
Although the presidential and general elections of February 1988 again gave him victory, his scores were down (73% and 71.3% respectively). Above all, according to the opposition, this was due to serious irregularities that exacerbated the tensions in the country’s political life rather than appeasing them. Paradoxically, it was the leader of the opposition, Abdoulaye Wade of the Parti démocratique sénégalais who came out of these elections in the best shape. The post-election atmosphere was so explosive that it was to lead to riots and urban violence structured around the slogan “sopi” (change). The firm reaction of the government, arresting and trying A. Wade, who was held responsible for the violence, only succeeded in giving him the aura of a victim and hero. To calm the situation, a round table was organised between the government and opposition and a part of the latter (A Wade, most unexpectedly) agreed to enter the government. In the presidential elections of February 1993, the scenario was almost identical: electoral fraud, violence, arrests of certain opposition leaders who ended up being released and joining the government. What is worth noting, however, is the continued decline in the votes cast for the Chief of State, who won only 58.4% compared with 32.03% for Wade. In the May 1993 general elections, the PS won 84 seats out of 120, while the PDS won 27 and its leader again entered the government in March 1995.
In November 1996 were held regional, municipal and rural elections. The PS, which was thought to be weakened, easily won these elections: 300 rural communities out of 320, 56 towns out of 60, all 10 regions, 38 arrondissement mayors out of the 43 in the Urban Community of Dakar, which thus also had a socialist mayor. Likewise, in the general elections of 24 May 1998 in which the number of seats was increased from 120 to 140, the ruling party won 93 seats. The PDS won 23, the URD 11 and And Jëf 4. A total of eleven parties were represented in the new Assembly at the end of a process that was once again contested by the opposition, who unsuccessfully demanded that the election results be cancelled. For this reason, the majority of the opposition parties boycotted the senatorial elections of February 1999, an indirect election in which the councillors elected in the already-contested 1996 elections were the voters. This attitude enabled the PS to win all 48 seats on top of the 12 members appointed by decree by the President of the Republic.
Senegal is one of the rare African countries to have earned mention since the 1970’s for its pluralist experience, contrasting with the single-party systems in other countries. The opposition, however, did not succeed in winning the creation of an independent electoral commission. The authorities merely granted the setting up of an Observatoire national des elections (ONEL) headed by a retired General with open sympathies for the PS and thus contested by the opposition. The authorities did undertake changes in the electoral laws. Thus, by laws 39/98 and 42/98 passed in August 1998, the PS majority in the National Assembly modified the electoral code and abolished two articles of the Constitution that posed problems in relation to changes in power: Article 21 limiting the number of presidential terms of office to two (Presidents can now be re-elected indefinitely) and Article 238 - that of the one-quarter requiring a second round in the election if a candidate had an absolute majority in the first but without winning the votes of one-quarter of the number of voters enrolled.
Despite a few protests relating to the preparations for the elections, the presidential vote was organised in a peaceful atmosphere. In the first round of 27 February 2000, President Abdou Diouf of the PS won only 41.3% of the votes and was thus forced for the first time to take part in a second round against his rival Abdoulaye Wade (PDS) who had come second with 30.1% of the votes. These two candidates were followed by Moustapha Niasse of the AFP (16.8%), Djibo Leyti Kâ of the URD (7.1%), Iba Der Thiam of the CDP (1.2%), Serigne Ousseynou Fall (1.1%), Sheik Abdoulaye Dieye (1.0%) and Mademba Sock (0.1%). In the second round, held on 19 March 2000, thanks to the support of several candidates including Moustapha Niasse, Aboulaye Wade was elected President of the Republic with 58.5% of the votes against 41.5% for Abdou Diouf. This was the first time since the country’s independence that there had been such a democratic change of government, thanks to a coalition known as the Front de l’Alternance (FAL). President Abdoulaye Wade appointed Moustapha Niasse Prime Minister and formed a government composed of the parties who had given him electoral support. On 7 January 2001, he organised a constitutional referendum to give himself the institutional means of bringing about the “Sopi” (change) he had promised the Senegalese. The National Assembly produced by the elections of 1998 and dominated by the PS will be dissolved in February 2001 and new general elections are scheduled for April 2001.

Political Institutions

A new Constitution was approved, in the referendum held on 7 January 2001, by 92.5% of the voters with a turnout of 66%. When promulgated, the new Constitution will give President Wade the means of dissolving the National Assembly with a view to holding new general elections in the light of the new political situation in Senegal. The new Constitution abolishes the Senate and the Economic and Social Council established by the old 1963 Constitution that had been amended several times.
As far as the executive is concerned, the President of the Republic is elected for five years by direct universal suffrage in a two-round majority-basis vote. He may have a second term of office, but no more. The President of the Republic is the guardian of the Constitution and guarantees the working of the institutions, national independence and the integrity of the territory. He sets the policy of the Nation. He also appoints the Prime Minister, who is the Chief of the Government. The President of the Republic may pronounce the dissolution of the National assembly by decree after obtaining the opinion of the Prime Minister and the President of the National Assembly.
The government manages and coordinates the policy of the Nation under the leadership of the Prime Minister. It is answerable to the President of the Republic as well as to the National Assembly which can force it to resign by passing a vote of no confidence.
The National Assembly holds the legislative power. It is alone in passing laws. The members of the National Assembly are elected by direct universal suffrage. They have a five-year term of office which may only be shortened in case of dissolution of the National Assembly. It may hear the Prime Minister and the other members of the government at any time in a plenary session or in its commissions and it can force the government to resign by passing a vote of no confidence. Its dissolution may be pronounced by the President of the Republic. However, the dissolution may not occur during the first two years of the legislature.
The Constitutional Council judges the constitutional validity of laws, international commitments, conflicts of competence between the executive and legislative branches and between the Council of State and Court of Cassation, as well as cases of unconstitutionality raised before the Council of State or Court of Cassation. It has five members – a President, a Vice President and three judges. Their term of office is six years. The Council is renewed every two years.
The High Court of Justice is composed of members elected by the National Assembly. It is presided over by a magistrate. The organisation of the High Court of Justice and its procedure are established by an organic law.

Judicial System

Judicial power is independent of the legislative and executive authorities. It is exercised by the Constitutional Court, the Council of State, the Court of Cassation, the Court of Auditors and the courts and tribunals.
The law also provides for a High Council of Magistrates as well as a High Court of Justice to judge members of the executive. The Council of State is the first and only judge in matters of abuse of power by the executive. The Court of Cassation pronounces is judgement in all appeals against judgements rendered in the lower jurisdictions.

Decentralisation and Devolution

Like the other African States, Senegal inherited a highly centralised Jacobin State. Regional development policies and administrative reforms have been implemented to try to bring the State closer to those it administers and to favour local democracy. Thus, in 1960, the 30 existing communes were made official. On 30 June 1966, a law instituting the communal administration code was passed. On 4 July of the same year, a decree established the financial regime of the local authorities. In 1972, the law of 19 April increased the number of communes to 37 and created rural communes with the status of local authorities. In February 1983, an Urban Community was created in Dakar. In October 1992, the communes and rural communities were granted financial autonomy and became official legal entities. Eleven additional communes were created. In April 1992, a regionalisation policy was implemented. The regions and departments were granted the status of local authorities with extended powers. Since 1996, decentralisation has been governed by law 96-07 of 22 March 1996 on the transfer of power to the regions, communes and rural communities. Since the last local elections in November 1996, Senegal has had 400 local authorities administered by 24,000 councillors. The local representatives of the State supervise each echelon of local administration. The shift in power in early 2000 will lead to changes in the decentralisation process, but President Wade has promised not to take direct measures to dissolve local authorities until a new Assembly has been elected to study the question.

Political Parties

Senegal is one of the rare African countries to have had a multiparty system as early as the 1970’s. Although restricted in 1976, full pluralism was achieved in 1981. Up to October 2000, 57 political parties had been officially registered, but there are about fifteen parties who change their alliances in accordance with their political strategies to conquer power and who generally stand out above the others. After the 1998 general elections, eleven parties were represented in the National Assembly. We will mention the Parti Socialiste (PS) of former President Abdou Diouf, now led by Ousmane Tanor Dieng, and the Parti Démocratique Sénégalais (PDS) of Abdoulaye Wade, which are the two main political forces in the country. Then there are two new parties founded by Parti Socialiste dissidents: the Alliance des Forces du Progrès (AFP) of Moustapha Niasse and Djibo Leyti Kâ’s Union pour le Renouveau Démocratique (URD). We should also mention And Jëf-Mouvement Révolutionnaire pour la Démocratie Nouvelle (AJ-MRDN) of Landing Savané, the Convention des Démocrates et Patriotes (CDP) of Iba Der Thiam, the Parti de l’Indépendance et du Travail (PIT) of Amath Dansokho, Majhemout Diop’s Parti Africain de l’Indépendance (PAI), the Parti Démocratique du Sénégal/Rénovation (DS/R), the Mouvement Républicain Sénégalais (MRS), the Rassemblement National Démocratique (RND), the Mouvement Démocratique Populaire (MDP), the Ligue Démocratique/Mouvement pour le Travail (LD/MPT), the Union pour la Démocratie Populaire (UDP), the Parti Populaire Sénégalais (PPS), the Organisation Socialiste des Travailleurs (OST), the Ligne Communiste des Travailleurs (LCT), the Parti Africain de l’Indépendance des Masses (PAI/M) and the Parti pour la Libération du Peuple (PLP).
The new Constitution of 7 January 2001 guarantees the right of political parties to oppose the policy of the government. The Republic grants them a status that establishes their rights and duties.

Trades Unions

The Constitution recognises and guarantees the right to be a member of a union and to strike. The country has several sector-based unions and union confederations that have a great influence on political and social life. Senegal is one of the rare French-speaking African countries to have a relatively dynamic civil society.
Among the different unions, we will mention: the Syndicat Unique de l’Enseignement Laïc (Lay Teaching), the Union des Travailleurs du Sénégal, the Syndicat des Enseignants (Teachers) du Sénégal, the Union des Travailleurs Sénégalais, the Fédération Nationale des Enseignants, the Union Nationale des Travailleurs du Sénégal, the Syndicat Unique et Démocratique des Enseignants du Sénégal, the Confédération Générale des Travailleurs Démocrates, the Confédération Nationale des Travailleurs du Sénégal, the Syndicat National de l’Enseignement Elémentaire.

Human Rights

In the Preamble to the Constitution, Senegal states its attachment to the fundamental rights as defined in the Declaration of Human and Citizens’ Rights of 1789 and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948.
Senegal has several human rights groups, such as the Ligue Sénégalaise des Droits de l’Homme, the Senegalese section of Amnesty International led by Bacre Waly Ndiaye, the Rencontre Africaine pour la Défense des Droits de l’Homme presided over by Waly Coly Faye, the Institut Africain pour les Droits de l’Homme led by Moustapha Seck and the Institut des Droits de l’Homme et de la Paix of Bacary Traoré.
Despite the protests that follow each election, political life runs more smoothly than in most African countries and violations of human rights are rare. However, the war between the Senegalese army and the separatist rebels of the Mouvement des Forces Démocratiques de Casamance (MFDC) has given rise to many acts of violence on both sides. These violations of human rights are regularly denounced by Amnesty International.

Media

The Constitution guarantees freedom of expression and of the press as well as the right to information. There are about twenty written press publications.
The Senegalese press is original in that there are several daily papers: Le Soleil, the government daily, Sud Quotidien and Walfadjri. Few publications appear regularly. We should mention Le Politicien, a satirical monthly, Promotion, an independent paper published twice monthly, Le Cafard Libéré, Le Rénovateur, Le Devoir, Républicain, Faggaru, Xarebi, Le Témoin, Le Soutien, etc. L’Unité pour le Socialisme is the monthly publication of the PS and Sopi is the daily paper of the PDS.
The pluralism of the radio waves is officially recognised and there is a Haut Conseil de Radiotélévision (Law 92-57 of 25 August 1992) to oversee it. Alongside the government radio station, there are also Sud FM, Dunya FM, Nostalgie and international stations such as Radio France Internationale and Africa N°1. Several foreign television stations such as Canal Horizon or TV5 broadcast in Senegal. In January 2001, the government announced its intention to put an end to the State monopoly in the television sector by allowing the set-up of private channels.