2001 Senegalese parliamentary election

An election for the National Assembly of Senegal was held on 29 April 2001. The election was held under the new constitution approved by referendum earlier in the year. Following the victory of Abdoulaye Wade in the February–March 2000 presidential election, the Sopi Coalition, including Wade's Senegalese Democratic Party and its allies, won a large majority.

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After Wade was elected President, he entered a situation of cohabitation with the Socialist Party, which still held an overwhelming majority of seats in the National Assembly. Wade was constitutionally barred from dissolving the National Assembly and calling a new parliamentary election, but he decided to revise the constitution and said that he would not pursue policy initiatives in the meantime. Since he was not seeking new legislation, he did not need to compromise with the National Assembly, which simply approved the budget and adjourned. The Socialist Party did not object to Wade's constitutional changes, which included giving the President the right to dissolve the National Assembly, and the new constitution easily passed a referendum in January 2001. Wade then dissolved the National Assembly and called a new parliamentary election. The Socialist-controlled upper house of Parliament, the Senate, was abolished by the referendum.[1]

Although Wade was barred by the January 2001 Constitution from addressing rallies during the election campaign[2] and the Sopi Coalition was not allowed to use his picture on its ballot papers,[3] Wade actively and prominently participated in the Sopi campaign, drawing criticism from opponents.[3][4] Wade urged the people to vote for the Sopi Coalition so that he could govern effectively with a secure majority.[1]

Results
Party Votes % Seats +/–
Coalition Sopi (PSD–LD-MPT)931,61749.689+63
Alliance of the Forces of Progress303,15016.111New
Socialist Party of Senegal326,12617.410–83
Union for Democratic Renewal69,1093.73–8
And-Jëf/African Party for Democracy and Socialism76,1024.12–2
Senegalese Liberal Party17,2400.91New
Party for Progress and Citizenship17,1220.91New
Alliance for Progress and Justice/Jëf-Jël15,0480.81New
National Democratic Rally13,2860.710
Party of Independence and Labour10,8540.610
Others99,1925.30–
Invalid/blank votes11,082–––
Total1,889,928100120–20
Registered voters/turnout2,804,35267.4––
Source: African Elections Database
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References
  1. Marina Ottaway, Democracy Challenged: The Rise of Semi-Authoritarianism (2003), Carnegie Endowment, pages 104–106.
  2. "Senegal's president hopes to consolidate power in legislative vote", Associated Press (nl.newsbank.com), April 29, 2001.
  3. Chris Simpson, "Senegal: Wade's historic turnaround", BBC News, May 2, 2001.
  4. "Senegal: President's criticized for involvement in electoral campaign", Radio France Internationale (nl.newsbank.com), April 27, 2001.
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