As the early legislative elections of November 17, 2024 approach, the logistical scope of the organization of this election begins to be revealed. With 41 electoral lists in competitionthe challenge is significant for the Senegalese authorities. A key aspect attracting attention is the colossal cost of printing ballot papers and propaganda materials. According to information relayed by our colleagues from the newspaper The Observerthe Ministry of the Interior, via the General Directorate of Elections, has hired more than 11 billion FCFA for this essential task for the holding of elections.
To allow all voters to express themselves, a total of 348.5 million ballots must be printed. Each competing list will benefit from 8.5 million ballotsdont 400,000 intended for the Senegalese diaspora. The task of printing these documents is entrusted to 22 printers selected by the DGE, who have already received the official models to reproduce. Birame SeneChief Electoral Officer, supervised the distribution of the models to printers, who were informed during a meeting held last week.
The price of printing a ballot paper has been set at 31 FCFA per unit. Taking into account the 8.5 million ballots required for each list, this represents a total cost of 263.5 million FCFA by electoral list. Multiplied by the 41 competing lists, the overall cost of this operation exceeds the 10.8 billion FCFA. These impressive figures illustrate the extent of the logistical preparations for this election.
Besides ballots, propaganda materials constitute another major part of the expenditure. Each list is entitled to printed materials to campaign with voters. The cost of producing these documents is estimated at 21 million FCFA per list, which, for the 41 lists involved, brings the total bill to 861 million FCFA.
With a total exceeding 11 billion FCFA solely for the printing of ballot papers and propaganda documents, the legislative elections of November 2024 mark a significant step in Senegal’s commitment to democracy. Although the costs are high, these expenses reflect the importance of ensuring a transparent and fair electoral process for all stakeholders.
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