Author: Vincent Tohbi
Background
Senegal is a Sub-Saharan democracy that has been holding elections regularly since gaining independence in 1960. Though the 1963 constitution acknowledged multi-partism, the 1976 and 1978 constitutional reforms put an end to the single-party system and opened the political space to competitive elections with the participation of several political parties.
However, the 1983 and 1988 elections were marked by widespread violence. Then President Abdou Diouf put in place a National Commission for the Reform of the Electoral Act that produced recommendations in 1992 that were passed into law by the National Assembly:
- the voting age was lowered from 21 to 18;
- the use of voting booths to cast ballots was made compulsory;
- presentation of the voter’s card before voting was made compulsory;
- the use of indelible ink became mandatory;
- new national voters’ lists under the supervision of political parties were established;
- party agents to monitor the voting process in the polling stations were authorized;
- it became required to distribute voters’ cards in the presence of the party representatives;
- a national (and provincial) commission in charge of tallying the votes were established — headed by a magistrate and composed of party representatives;
- it was mandated to hold presidential and parliamentary elections on different dates;
- the Court of Appeal was tasked to handle electoral disputes; and
- the FPTP electoral system at the departmental level and the PR system at the national level in the parliamentary elections were combined to favour the representation of smaller parties.
However, this new Electoral Act did not prevent the country from experiencing new contestations of the presidential and parliamentary elections in 1993 and local elections in 1996. New reforms were discussed and adopted, and a National Elections Observ- atory was established in 1998, which subsequently became a National Autonomous Electoral Commission in 2005.
EMBs
Unlike many other African countries, several different institutions are responsible for various aspects of the management of elections in Senegal.
Ministry of Interior
The ministry has always been the backbone of elections management in the country. This was inherited from the French administrative tradition, as Senegal is a former French colony. The Ministry of Interior works with the governors and local authorities (i.e. préfets and sous-préfets). In 1997, the responsibility for elections management was transferred to the Direction General of Elections within the Ministry of Interior. Decree N° 2003–292 of 8 May 2003 reoriented the missions of the Direction General of Elections and gave it the following functions:
- the establishment and revision of voters’ lists;
- conception and maintenance of all elections documents and archives;
- organization and follow-up of the distribution of voters’ cards;
- supervision of the printing of ballot papers;
- support to the security services in ensuring safe electoral operations;
- training of the institutional administrations in charge of various aspects of the electoral process, such as the judiciary;
- voter education;
- the use of new IT; and
- analysis of elections.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs
This ministry works under the supervision of the Ministry of Interior in matters related to the election of Senegalese from the diaspora, and enjoys the same mission as above.
The National Autonomous Electoral Commission
To increase parties’ confidence in the management of elections by the Ministry of Interior and by civil servants who may not be impartial, consensus was reached among political parties to ensure the supervision of the ministry’s electoral work by the National Autonomous Electoral Commission (Commission Electorale Nationale Autonome, CENA). As per law N°3 2005–07 of 11 May 2005, the CENA’s role is to:
- supervise and control the establishment of the voters’ rolls;
- supervise and control the purchase, printing and distribution of voters’ cards;
- avail the voters’ lists to parties;
- supervise voting operations and all election-related activities;
- supervise the collection, tallying and centralization of results; and
- make recommendations to improve the electoral process.
CENA is composed of 12 neutral and independent members appointed by presidential decree after consultations with various institutions. They have a six-year term and one-third of the membership is renewed every three years. CENA has representatives at the regional and departmental levels, and has members in every polling station on voting days. Currently it has 48 technical staff members.
The National Commission for the Tallying of the Votes
The National Commission for the Tallying of the Votes (Commission Nationale de Recensement des Votes, CNRV) was created in the 1992 reforms mentioned above. There are 14 regional commissions and 45 departmental commissions. The National Commission is headed by the president of the Court of Appeal and two judges. Each party, party list or candidate has a representative in the National Commission. Each of the 14 regional commissions is led by the president of the regional tribunal. The regional commissions are composed of two judges and a representative of each party and candidate. Each of the 45 departmental commissions is composed of three magistrates appointed by the Court of Appeal and a representative of each party or candidate.
According to sections 134, 182, 217, 218 and 219 of the 1992 Electoral Act, the CNRV manages the tallying of the votes on the basis of the results sheets transmitted by the polling staffs. Unlike the departmental commissions, the national and regional commissions can declare the results null and void or order the review of each result sheet from the polling stations. The National Commission announces the provisional results of the presidential and parliamentary elections.
National Council for the Regulation of TV and Radio
The National Council for the Regulation of TV and Radio (Conseil National de Régulation de l’Audiovisuel, CNRA) was established by law N°2006–04 of 4 January 2006. It is composed of nine independent members chosen among academics, media professionals, NGO activists and artists, among others. Its mission is to regulate private and public TV and radio stations during electoral processes and ensure equal access to the media for political parties and candidates.
EMB Funding and Accountability
All the institutions above receive their funding from the government. Senegal has no external financial dependence for electoral management. The government fully covers the cost of elections. However, there are some complementary or bilateral projects that receive support from donors (e.g. voter education and security). The Ministry of Interior accounts financially and administratively to the government.
CENA refused to have its budget included in that of the Ministry of Interior. It now has financial autonomy and accounts to the National Assembly. The CNRV is accountable to the judiciary. All other institutions are accountable to the government.
Electoral Dispute Resolution
There is no systematic alternative electoral dispute resolution mechanism in Senegal. All disputes are dealt with either administratively by CENA and CNRA, or legally by the courts. The Court of Appeal in Dakar plays an important role in the resolution of disputes resulting from parliamentary and local elections, whereas the Constitutional Council deals with disputes related to presidential elections.
Legal Framework of Elections
Different laws regulate the holding of elections. Political parties are free as per law N°89–36 of 12 October 1989. However they should not be formed on the basis of race, ethnic group, sex, religion, language or region.
As for media regulation, law N°96–04 of 22 February 1996 governs the freedom of the press. This has led to the creation of many media companies or press agencies: five national commercial radio stations, several local commercial radio stations, more than 70 community radio stations and nine TV channels with national coverage. As for the printed media, there are 20 dailies and more than 12 weeklies. All public and private TV and radio stations fall under the scrutiny of CNRA during elections.
A new Electoral Act was passed in January 2012. The last general elections were governed by Electoral Act No 2012–01 of 3 January 2012, which replaced Electoral Act No 92–16 of 7 February 1992.
Relations with Civil Society, Political Parties and Observers
Political parties are an integral part of the electoral process, and have representatives in all EMBs, with the exception of the Ministry of Interior. They are also the major actors in the process of electoral reforms through Parliament.
Civil society is also involved in CENA and CNRA, but is less engaged in EMB consultations. During the 2012 elections, civil society was involved in voter education activities, as well as conflict prevention initiatives, since those elections took place in a volatile atmosphere.
Political parties and CSOs are formally involved in and consulted on all electoral issues in the steering committee called the Comité de Suivi et de Veille (Monitoring and Follow-up Committee).
Thanks to its relatively stable democracy, Senegal is not used to the deployment of large numbers of international observers. However, given the tense atmosphere that prevailed in the months prior to the 2012 presidential elections, the country recorded its highest ever number of international observers: 3,000. As for citizen observers, who have always monitored elections in the country, the figure amounted to more than 6,000 in 2012. The accreditation of observers by the Ministry of Interior is a fast and easy process.
Relations with Other Institutions and Agencies
It is important to mention that although several institutions are involved in conducting elections, the relationships and collaboration between them is smooth and harmonized overall — as is the relationship between the EMBs and the police, despite the serious incidents that occurred in the weeks before the elections.
Electoral Review and Evaluation
There is, unfortunately, no formal and collective electoral review involving the various EMBs. Each EMB drafts periodic reports, points out achievements and weaknesses, and makes recommendations for improvement. Some of those reports are not disclosed to the public, and the recommendations are not followed up. For instance, CENA proposed reforms in 2009 for implementation before the 2012 election that were never passed into law. Among those recommendations was the suggestion to decentralize dispute resolution from the Court of Appeal to the regional and provincial Courts of Appeal. Other suggestions included increasing CENA’s powers to include appointing polling staff members, tallying the votes and transmitting the results sheets to the CNRV; and the introduction of the unique ballot paper. Senegal still uses multiple ballot papers, which are costly, damaging to the environment and susceptible to manipulation.
The Monitoring and Follow-up Committee — comprised of all EMBS, political parties, civil society and observers — was established in 2010. It was created in response to the increasing crisis in confidence among electoral stakeholders regarding the reliability of the voters’ rolls. The committee meets when the need arises to discuss all electoral issues, and directs its recommendations to the government and Parliament. It can also propose reforms, laws and amendments.
Training and Professionalism of EMB Staff
The EMB staff do not have regular refresher training. Training events are mostly organized in the run-up to elections or during election time. But because there is an election almost every two years in Senegal (local or national), the EMBs have the opportunity to keep their staffs updated about electoral procedures, new regulations and new technologies.
The professionalism of the polling staff is commendable; they perform their duties in a remarkable manner and generally enjoy the confidence of the voters. The country’s long tradition of elections has greatly contributed to the professional handling of electoral matters.
The Use of New Technologies
Since 2007, the Ministry of Interior has introduced new technologies to improve its performance. Digital and biometric technologies were used to create the national voters’ rolls and produce IDs and voter cards. All registration centres are equipped with computers and the equipment required to capture fingerprints and photographs. In 2011, political parties acquired new technologies to track fraudulent registrations, which uncovered 55,856 fictitious voters.
CENA put an IT unit in place in 2012 that can collect any information about voting in the polling stations.
Opportunities and Constraints
The 2012 presidential and parliamentary elections have proven the maturity of Senegalese democracy. Apart from some discussions about the voters’ list that produced a consensus in the political arena, the electoral operations did not suffer major flaws. There is general confidence in the electoral process. However, Senegal should review its system and decide whether the current EMBs can still operate independently and enjoy the same confidence.
The use of a unique ballot paper may be a matter for further discussion. The predominant role of the Ministry of Interior may become a matter of concern if civil servants are more inclined to obey their hierarchy than to work impartially. But for now, the EMBs are relatively trusted and have contributed to peace in Senegal by performing their duties professionally.
