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Parliamentary elections were held in
Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ðž ...
on 1 July 2012. The result was a victory for the United in Hope coalition supporting newly elected President
Macky Sall Macky Sall (, wo, Maki Sàll, fuc, 𞤃𞤢𞤳𞤭 𞤅𞤢𞤤‎, italic=no, Maki Sal; born 11 December 1961) is a Senegalese politician who has been President of Senegal since April 2012. He was re-elected President in the first round voti ...
, which won 119 of the 150 seats in the
National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...
.Senegal's President Macky Sall wins national assembly landslide
BBC News, 5 July 2012
Voter turnout in the election was just 37%.


Background

Changes to the electoral law passed in 2010 made it mandatory for women to make up 50% of candidates on party lists.Women to get equal shot in Senegal elections
Jakarta Globe 1 July 2012
A total of 24 lists were submitted for the election, with over 7,000 candidates, including Laurence Gavron, the first white woman to run for election to Parliament. Of the 150 seats in the National Assembly, 60 were elected through proportional representation and 90 in constituencies. The election had originally been scheduled for 17 June 2012, but President Macky Sall announced a change of date after saying there was not enough time to prepare for it and that he had consulted the opposition
Senegalese Democratic Party The Senegalese Democratic Party (french: Parti démocratique sénégalais) is a political party in Senegal. The party considers itself a liberal party and is a member of the Liberal International. Abdoulaye Wade, who was President of Senegal fro ...
(PDS) on the move.


Results

As a result of the new law on equal representation on party lists, 64 women were elected to the Assembly. The United in Hope coalition included the Alliance for the Republic.


Aftermath

The pro-Sall United in Hope coalition won an overwhelming majority of seats in the National Assembly, 119 out of 150, while the PDS saw its share of seats plummet to only 12. The remaining 19 seats were distributed amongst an assortment of small parties. On 30 July 2012, one of Sall's most prominent allies,
Moustapha Niasse Moustapha Niasse (born November 4, 1939
.
) is a
, was elected as President of the National Assembly; he defeated a PDS deputy, Oumar Sarr. Niasse received 126 votes against 17 votes for Sarr; there were three blank votes. Eight vice-presidents were elected, including
Awa Guèye Awa Guèye (born 31 August 1978 in Dakar) is a Senegalese former basketball player for the Senegal women's national basketball team who competed in the 2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad ...
as First Vice-President and Moustapha Cissé Lô as Second Vice-President. None of the vice-president posts went to a deputy from the opposition, leading it to complain that the majority had excluded it and ignored parliamentary tradition. While the opposition Liberals and Democrats Parliamentary Group was too few in number to guarantee it one of the posts, the opposition nevertheless felt that it should have been given a post for reasons of tradition and "dignity"."Absence de l'opposition : Fada dénonce une entorse à la tradition parlementaire"
, Agence de Presse Sénégalaise, 30 July 2012 .


References

{{Senegalese elections Elections in Senegal
Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ðž ...
2012 in Senegal July 2012 events in Africa