Senegal Government Profile 2012

Multiparty democractic republic.

In Senegal, the president is elected by universal suffrage. A two-chamber parliamentary system has been in force since 2007 with a 150-member national assembly and a 100-member senate largely dominated by President Abdoulaye Wade’s party, the Senegalese Democratic Party (PDS). The opposition, grouped under the name ‘Bennoo Siggil Senegaal’ (Wolof for ‘United to Boost Senegal’), held a national conference from June 2008 to May 2009 intended to diagnose the country’s difficulties and propose solutions. Chaired by Amadou Moctar Mbow, former Director General of UNESCO, the conference resulted in a Charter of Democratic Governance addressed to the country’s political authorities.

The government suffered a setback in the March 2009 local elections, in which President Wade had become personally involved. The opposition won the vote in the country’s large cities such as Dakar, Thiès, Saint-Louis, Kaolack and Fatick.

Otherwise, the crisis in Casamance has not been solved. December 2009 was a deadly month in this region, with a soldier’s death followed by that of a teacher of the Sedhiou inspectorate. President Wade, who had promised to settle this conflict in his first 100 days of government, seems currently overwhelmed by the turn of events. The peace process is blocked by the absence of a credible representative of the Movement of Democratic Forces in Casamance (MFDC) since the death in 2007 of its historic leader, Father Augustin Senghor.