Senegal and Senegal News

  
Country Profile
Senegal officially the Republic of Senegal is a country in Western Africa.
Senegal is subdivided into 14 regions, each administered by a Regional Council.

Education is compulsory and free up to the age of 16.
Capital                                      Dakar
Currency                                  CFA Franc
Population                                13 Million (2011 Estimate)
Official Language                      French
Religion                                    Islam  practiced by approximately 90% of the country's population

History

In January 1959 Senegal and the French Sudan merged to form the Mali Federation , which became fully independent on June 20, 1960, as a result of the independence and the transfer of power agreement signed with France on April 4, 1960.
Due to internal political difficulties, the Federation broke up on Aug 20,1960, Senegal and French Sudan (renamed the Republic of Mali) proclaimed independence.
Leopold Senghor was proclaimed Senegal's first president in September 1960.

Government
Senegal is a Republic with a Presidency; the President is elected  every 5 years as of 2001 .President is Head of State elected for a 7 year term.
Currently, Senegal has a quasi-democratic political culture, trying to be one of the more successful Post-Colonial Democratic transitions in Africa.Senegal has more than 80 Political Parties.Senegal, a former French colony, is seen as a stable democracy with an unbroken series of elections since independence in 1960.
Parliament
The Bicameral Parliament consists of the National Assembly which has 120 seats, and the Senate, which has 100 seats

 

Presidents of Senegal

S.No	Name	Period	Political Party
1	Leopold Senghor	Sep 6,1960 –Dec31,1980	Socialist Party of Senegal
2	Abdou Diouf	Jan 1,1981 to April 1,2000	Socialist Party of Senegal
3	Abdoulaye Wade	April 1,2000 to Incumbent	Senegalese Democratic Party

 Prime Minister of Senegal
PM is the Head of Govt.appointed by the President of Senegal, who is directly elected for a five year term. The Prime Minister, in turn, appoints the Senegalese cabinet, after consultation with the President.

Souleymane Ndéné Ndiaye(Senegalese Democratic Party) is the current PM of Senegal in office from April 30,2009

Prime Ministers of Senegal 

S.No	Name	Period	Political Party
1	Mamadou Dia	May 18,1960 to Dec18,1962	Senegalese Progressive Union
2	Abdou Diouf	Feb 26,1970 to Dec31,1980	Socialist Party of Senegal
3	Habib Thiam	Jan 1,1981 to April 3,1983	Socialist Party of Senegal
4	Moustapha Niasse(Acting)	April 3 – 29,1983	Socialist Party of Senegal
5	Habib Thiam	April 8,1991 to July 3,1998	Socialist Party of Senegal
6	Mamadou Lamine Loum	July 3,1998 to April 5,2000	Socialist Party of Senegal
7	Moustapha Niasse	April 5,2000 to March 3,2001	Alliance of the Forces of Progress
8	Mama Madior Boye	March 3,2001 to Nov 4,2002	Senegalese Democratic Party
9	Idrissa Seck	Nov 4,2002 to April 21,2004	Senegalese Democratic Party
10	Macky Sall	April 21,2004 to June 19,2007	Senegalese Democratic Party
11	Cheikh Hadjibou Soumare	June 19,2007 to April 30,2009	Independent
12	Souleymane Ndene Ndiaye	April 30,2009 - Incumbent	Senegalese Democratic Party

Senegal Presidential Elections - Feb 26,2012
The Presidential elections which were perceived as controversial due to President Abdoulaye Wade's candidacy. The controversy stemmed from the fact that although the Senegalese constitution did not allow a president to serve more than two terms, President Wade amended the constitution last year which allowed him to run for a 3rd term.

Presidential Election Result - First Round

According to provisional results announced on Wednesday Feb 29,2012,President Abdoulaye Wade, has failed to secure an outright win and a 3rd  term by polling less than the required 50% votes in the Presidential elections as he got only 34.82% of votes and Macky Sall got 26.57% votes.

President Abdoulaye Wade fails to secure outright win

 

Abdoulaye Wade's failure to win in the first round, when the opposition vote was split, is an embarrassing defeat. He was facing 13 opponents, who are now likely to unite behind Sall.

For most of Senegal's post-independence history, the presidential term was seven years long. When Wade was elected in 2000, he reduced it to five. In 2008, he amended the constitution to increase it back to seven years. Since taking office Wade had revised the constitution 15 times and was accused of treating the country and its laws as his personal property.

Unconfirmed reports from Senegal's controversial presidential election indicate a tight race between incumbent Abdoulaye Wade(24% of the vote) and former Prime Minister Macky Sall(21% of the vote)

 Presidential Poll run-off -Sunday March 25,2012

Macky Sall,a former PM won the Presidential Election in the Run-off held on Sunday March 25,2012 defeating incumbent Abdoulaye Wade who is seeking a 3rd term.The winner of Senegal's presidential election, Macky Sall, has said the poll marks a "new era" for the country.

 

Senegal's president Abdoulaye Wade has admitted defeat in the presidential election as results gave an overwhelming lead to his rival,Macky Sall.

Senegal Senate Abolished

Senegalese MPs have voted to abolish the Senate as part of moves to help the victims of recent deadly floods.President Macky Sall has said the money reserved for the upper house - about $15m (£9.5m) - will also go towards preventing further flooding.

The 100 senators had fought to be retained, but lost the vote in the joint session of parliament.