1978 Senegalese general election

General elections were held in Senegal on 26 February 1978 to elect a President and National Assembly. Following a constitutional amendment in 1976,[1] the elections were open to more than one party for the first time since 1963. President Léopold Sédar Senghor of the Socialist Party (formerly the Senegalese Progressive Union) was challenged by Abdoulaye Wade of the Senegalese Democratic Party, but won with 82% of the vote.[2] Members of the National Assembly were elected by closed-list proportional representation. In the National Assembly election, the Socialist Party won 82 of the 100 seats.[1] Voter turnout was 63.5% in the presidential election and 62.6% in the parliamentary election (Nohlen, Krennerich & Thibaut 1999).

Results

President

Candidate	Party	Votes	%
Léopold Sédar Senghor	Socialist Party	807,515	82.2
Abdoulaye Wade	Senegalese Democratic Party	174,817	17.8
Invalid/blank votes		6,234	-
Total		988,566	100
Source: Nohlen, Krennerich & Thibaut (1999)

National Assembly

Party	Votes	%	Seats	+/-
Socialist Party	790,799	81.74	82	-18
Senegalese Democratic Party	172,948	17.88	18	New
African Independence Party	3,734	0.38	0	New
Invalid/blank votes	7,344	-	-	-
Total	974,825	100	100	0
Source: Nohlen, Krennerich & Thibaut (1999)

References

1. Senegal Inter-Parliamentary Union
2. Elections in Senegal African Elections Database

Further reading

• Fatton, Robert (1987). The Making of a Liberal Democracy: Senegal's Passive Revolution, 1975–1985. Boulder: L. Rienner. ISBN 1-55587-010-4.
• Nohlen, D.; Krennerich, M.; Thibaut, B. (1999). Elections in Africa: A data handbook. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 766–770. ISBN 0-19-829645-2.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)