Senegal’s Constitutional Council confirmed that the ruling party won the November 17 parliamentary elections.
Senegal’s Constitutional Council confirmed on Wednesday that the ruling party won the parliamentary elections, securing the majority needed to implement its Pan-Africanist program.
According to the results, the Pastef party won 130 of the 165 parliamentary seats, marking one of the largest majorities ever achieved by a single party in the West African country.
Pastef’s candidate, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, was elected president in March, pledging to transform Senegal, a nation grappling with rising unemployment and a three-year-long economic and political crisis.
However, an opposition-dominated Parliament had obstructed his efforts to implement leftist policies, prompting Faye to dissolve the Assembly as soon as the Constitution allowed.
A justification
The Council’s final results validated Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko’s campaign. Sonko, a fiery former opposition leader, had traveled across the country to rally support for Pastef’s platform.
The opposition’s defeat was also confirmed, with coalitions led by former President Macky Sall and his protégé Amadou Ba securing only 16 and 7 seats, respectively.
Meanwhile, the movement led by Dakar Mayor Barthelemy Dias, known for his heated exchanges with Sonko during the campaign, won three parliamentary seats.
Independent candidate Tahirou Sarr also secured a seat after a campaign marked by nationalist rhetoric and attacks targeting Senegal’s Guinean and Lebanese communities.
Coalition majorities
While Pastef achieved a strong majority, past governments have secured even larger majorities, but through coalitions rather than a single party.
In 1988, Senegal’s Socialist Party, led by then-President Abdou Diouf, won 103 of the Assembly’s 120 seats.
