The year 1999 marked a major turning point in Nigeria’s history. This period marked the end of long military dominance of 15 years and ushered in the beginning of the fourth republic. The year 1999 marked a major turning point in Nigeria’s history.
Senegal
Senegal is a democratic republic with a strong presidential system, characterized by relatively stable democratic transitions since its 1960 independence and a robust civil society. The country held a peaceful political transition on March 24, 2024, with the election of opposition leader Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar Faye as the new president. Senegal’s political culture is a quasi-democratic one, distinguishing it in a region increasingly affected by military coups.
18.5M+
Population
100:96.8
Men-Women Ratio
41.2%
Women Representation
Overview
Senegal’s political system has evolved from its colonial past to a multi-party democracy. The country has a history of peaceful transfers of power and has not experienced a military coup.
• Independence and Early Political Structure
Senegal, a former French colony, gained its independence in 1960. Léopold Sédar Senghor became the first president, serving from 1960 to 1981. From 1966 to 1976, the country functioned as a one-party state under Senghor’s Socialist Party (PS), before re-opening to multi-party politics in 1978.
• Democratic Reforms and Power Transitions
Abdou Diouf succeeded Senghor in 1981 and served four terms. Constitutional reforms in 1991 and 2001 introduced direct popular elections and a two-term presidential limit.
In 2000, opposition candidate Abdoulaye Wade defeated Diouf, marking the first peaceful transfer of power from one party to another. Wade served two terms before handing power to Macky Sall after the 2012 election.
• The 2024 Election
After being re-elected in 2019, Macky Sall was term-limited in 2024. The presidential election, originally scheduled for February, was delayed by presidential decree. The Constitutional Council later ruled the postponement unconstitutional.
The election was held in March 2024, and Bassirou Diomaye Faye won. This transfer of power was peaceful and maintained Senegal’s record of democratic stability.
Upcoming Elections
August 21, 2025
Presidential Election
Scheduled
Learn more
August 21, 2025
Presidential Election
Scheduled
The year 1999 marked a major turning point in Nigeria’s history. This period marked the end of long military dominance of 15 years and ushered in the beginning of the fourth republic. The year 1999 marked a major turning point in Nigeria’s history.
Learn more
August 21, 2025
Presidential Election
Scheduled
The year 1999 marked a major turning point in Nigeria’s history. This period marked the end of long military dominance of 15 years and ushered in the beginning of the fourth republic. The year 1999 marked a major turning point in Nigeria’s history.
Learn more
Participation Metrics
• Voter Turnout: Turnout in Senegal has varied across election cycles. In the 2024 presidential election, approximately 4.43 million out of 7.26 million registered voters cast ballots;a turnout of around 61%. This was a drop from the 66.27% turnout recorded in 2019, when 4.43 million out of 6.68 million registered voters voted. Legislative elections tend to see lower participation, with 46.6% turnout in July 2022 and 49.5% in the November 2024 rerun.
• Registered Voters: As of the 2024 presidential election, Senegal had approximately 7,260,000 registered voters. This marked an increase from about 6.68 million in 2019. While registration data is collected by the electoral authority, age and gender disaggregation is not consistently published.
• Age/Youth: Senegal has a very youthful population (median age ~18.5 years), but official data on youth voter turnout is not publicly available. There is no youth quota in legislative representation, though young people form a significant portion of the electorate. Youth engagement is often high in presidential cycles due to strong civic campaigns.
• Gender: Women make up about 50.2% of Senegal’s population and a similar share of registered voters. Due to the Gender Parity Law (2010), 41.8% of seats (69 out of 165) in the National Assembly are currently held by women following the 2024 elections (source: UN Women). Senegal is considered a regional leader in legislative gender inclusion.
• Other Groups: Senegal’s legal and electoral frameworks promote inclusion of women, youth, and persons with disabilities, but implementation gaps remain. Accessibility at polling stations, outreach to PWDs, and political inclusion of marginalized groups are being addressed by civil society and electoral stakeholders.
Key Electoral Institutions
Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and Observer Groups
These are not formal government institutions but they play a crucial role in monitoring and reporting electoral irregularities. They also conduct political education and advocate for clearer electoral reforms.
Contact Information
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The Supreme Court of Nigeria
The Nigerian Court plays an important role in the country’s electoral processes by ensuring justce, fairness during and after elections. This cort is the highest and final court of appeal in Nigeria. Once the court delivers a judgement on an election matter, no addittional legal process is possible. Also, the courts interprets the provision of the electoral acts as codified in the 1999 constitution (as amended).
Contact Information
- Headquarters: Plot 436 Zambezi Crescent Maitama District FCT, Abuja, Nigeria
- Mailing Address: PMB 0184 Garki FCT, Abuja, Nigeria.
- Hotline: 0700-CALL-INEC (0700-2255-4632)
- Email: iccc@inec.gov.ng
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State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs)
This commission operates at the state level to conduct local government elections within each state. They are accountable to state governments. However, the structure of SIECs varies across states.
Contact Information
Visit Website
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)
This is the primary body in Nigeria that manages and coordinates natinal and state electoral processes. INEC was established by the 1999 constitution to supervise presidential, national assembly, governorship and state assembly elections; monitor pilitcal party activities and their finances: accredit observers and parties. INEC is headed by a Chairman and National Commissioner that is appointed by the president and approved the the senate.
Contact Information
- Headquarters: Plot 436 Zambezi Crescent Maitama District FCT, Abuja, Nigeria
- Mailing Address: PMB 0184 Garki FCT, Abuja, Nigeria.
- Hotline: 0700-CALL-INEC (0700-2255-4632)
- Email: iccc@inec.gov.ng
Visit Website
Electoral Laws & Policies
• Constitution of the Republic of Senegal (2001; term limits amended 2016)
Limits the presidential term to 5 years, maximum two consecutive terms.
Establishes the voting age at 18, universal suffrage, and core electoral institutions, including the Commission Électorale Nationale Autonome (CENA) and Constitutional Council.
Article 7 (as amended, 2010) guarantees absolute gender parity in electoral candidate lists.
https://adsdatabase.ohchr.org/IssueLibrary/SENEGAL_Constitution.pdf
https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Senegal_2016
• Electoral Code – Law n°2021‑35 of 23 July 2021 (latest version): The principal electoral legislation, later supplemented by Decree n°2021‑1196 (Sept 2021) for regulatory details.
Key provisions include voter eligibility, candidate nomination requirements (support signatures or sponsorship), campaign conduct rules, vote counting procedures, and gender parity enforcement.
For legislative elections, candidates must now collect support signatures from 0.5%–0.8% of registered voters, with at least 1,000 signatures per region. In certain cases, eligibility can be endorsed by 13 MPs or 120 mayors instead.
Presidential runoff held if no candidate gains an absolute majority in the first round; legislative elections use a mixed system: 112 single- and multi-member districts (majoritarian/party block) plus 53 proportional representation seats.
https://cms.vie-publique.sn/assets/d9338f57-02ac-4eb5-9f8a-93a648d5c4fd/code-electoral-senegal.pdf
• Gender Parity Law (Law n°2010‑11 of 28 May 2010) Requires all election candidate lists to alternate male/female candidates (“zebra system”), invalidating non-compliant party lists.
Increased women’s representation in parliament from ~22.7% in 2007 to over 42% in 2012, and ~46% in 2022.
https://www.icnl.org/wp-content/uploads/Senegal_gendpar.pdf
• Voting system: President requires an absolute majority in either one or two rounds. The National Assembly has 165 seats: 112 elected in single- and multi-member constituencies by FPTP (or party-block voting) and 53 by closed-list proportional representation (largest remainder). (Of the 112 FPTP seats, 15 are reserved for overseas voters.
• Recent reforms: 2023 amendments addressed sponsorship transparency (lottery for review order, CENA oversight) and tightened campaign finance controls.
Accredited Election Monitoring Organizations
Recent Election Publication
News & Updates
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Observe West Africa is a youth-led, civic-driven platform dedicated to promoting transparent and inclusive elections across West Africa.
Gambia
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Observe West Africa is a youth-led, civic-driven platform dedicated to promoting transparent and inclusive elections across West Africa.
How To Monitor Elections In
Senegal
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