Senegal’s legislative elections, held on 17 November, were won by the country’s governing party, the African Patriots of Senegal for Work, Ethics and Fraternity (Patriotes africains du Sénégal pour le travail, l'éthique et la fraternité, PASTEF), which secured 130 of the 165 (78.8 per cent) seats in the National Assembly. This represents a 44.9 per cent increase in the party’s seat share, which prior to the election was 56, and comes 8 months after it won the Presidential election in March. The main opposition coalition led by former President Macky Sall, Takku Wallu Sénégal, came second, winning 16 seats, followed by the Jàmm ak Njariñ coalition led by former Prime Minister Amadou Ba (7 seats). Voter turnout was 49.5 per cent of registered voters (up from 46.6 per cent in 2022). Sixty-eight of the 165 elected legislators (41.2 per cent) are women (down from 46.1 per cent in 2022). International observers from the African Union (AU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) gave the elections a positive assessment, noting that the voting process was generally smooth and the atmosphere largely peaceful.

Sources: Vie-Publique.sn (1), Jeune Afrique, Vie-Publique.sn (2),  L'Agence de presse sénégalaise

On 8 October, Senegal’s Ministry of Education published a decree requiring all schools to allow students to wear religious symbols within the school premises, in the classroom and during educational activities. The decree follows recent comments made by the country’s Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko, in which he appeared to criticise Catholic schools that did not allow students to wear the veil. While Catholic schools in Senegal (a constitutionally secular country) do not explicitly ban the veil, there have been occasions where veiled students have been prevented from attending class at such institutions and it is a highly contentious issue. There are over 300 Catholic schools in Senegal which, despite their religious affiliation, are attended by students from the Muslim majority.

Sources: Jeune Afrique, The Conversation, La Croix International, U.S. State Department

On 6 March, the National Assembly of Senegal passed a law that provides a general amnesty for acts committed during protests and political events during the preceding three years. This law was approved in a tumultuous context that included the cancellation and rescheduling of the presidential election – a contest in which potential candidates had faced legal proceedings. The law benefits some opposition politicians, including the eventual winner of the presidential election, Bassirou Diomaye Faye and former leader of the African Patriots of Senegal for Work, Ethics and Fraternity (Patriotes africains du Sénégal pour le travail, l’éthique et la fraternité, PASTEF), Ousmane Sonko. However, the law also protects government officials involved in the deaths of protestors. Human rights advocates have criticised the law for providing impunity to those who were involved in the deaths of protestors. The law was promulgated on 13 March, and on 14 March Sonko and Faye were released from prison – 10 days before the election.

Sources: Jeune Afrique (1), Jeune Afrique (2), Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch

Senegal’s presidential election (originally scheduled for 25 February) was held on 24 March. Bassirou Diomaye Faye of the African Patriots of Senegal for Work, Ethics and Fraternity (Patriotes africains du Sénégal pour le travail, l’éthique et la fraternité, PASTEF) won the election in the first round, receiving 54.3 per cent of the valid votes. Amadou Ba of the ruling party Alliance for the Republic (Alliance pour la république, APR) came in second with 35.8 per cent of the vote. There was a total of 19 candidates for the office of president, only one of whom (Anta Babacar Ngom) is a woman. Turnout was 61.3 per cent of the registered voters, down from 66.3 per cent in 2019. International observers from the African Union (AU) and European Union (EU) both delivered positive assessments of the electoral process, at least in its final stages. However, the EU report noted that access to information during the electoral campaign was impeded by several temporary shut-downs of the mobile Internet networks.

Sources: Agence de Presse Sénégalaise, Le Quotidien, Jeune Afrique, African Union, European Union

On 3 February, President Macky Sall announced that the elections planned for 25 February would not take place. On 6 February, after chaotic scenes in the National Assembly during which opposition lawmakers were forcibly removed from the chamber, the legislature passed a law setting a new election date of 15 December. This postponement of the electoral process followed many months of controversy over the eligibility of several leading politicians in Senegal to run for the office of president. The Constitutional Council had released the list of eligible candidates on 21 January, excluding both Ousmane Sonko (due to criminal convictions) and Karim Wade (due to allegations that he holds French citizenship). However, opposition parties filed legal challenges to the postponement of the election, and on 15 February, the Constitutional Council ruled that the delay in holding the election was unconstitutional, and that the election should take place as soon as possible. On 16 February, President Sall pledged to implement the Constitutional Council’s ruling ‘without delay.’

Sources: Le Monde, Africa News, Al Jazeera, Le Soleil