Senegal ruling party wins parliamentary majority, paving way for reforms

RFI

21 November 2024 at 2:36 pm·1-min read

The new government must address the expectations of the hard-up Senegalese population.

Senegal's ruling party won over three-quarters of parliamentary seats in weekend elections, according to national provisional results announced Thursday, potentially handing them the means to deliver their ambitious reform agenda.

President Bassirou Diomaye Faye's Pastef party secured 130 seats in the west African country's 165-seat national assembly, according to an AFP tally of figures given by the national vote-counting commission, confirmed by a Pastef official.

The results from Sunday's vote remain provisional, pending confirmation by the Constitutional Council within a five-day period.

It would be the largest majorities ever won by a single party in a legislative election.

The Socialist Party obtained 103 seats out of 120 under then-president Abdou Diouf in 1988, with stronger majorities having since emerged, such as in 2012, but it was a coalition.

The opposition was quashed. Former president Macky Sall's coalition settled for just 16 MPs, with seven for former premier Amadou Ba's and three for Dakar Mayor Barthelemy Dias', provisional results showed.

Highly influential and charismatic Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko, who was the lead candidate for Pastef, is considered the mastermind behind the legislative landslide.

The objective is "a coherent and pragmatic systemic transformation of Senegal", Faye told a cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

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