The Commissions of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union (AU) announced the deployment in Senegal of their Joint Electoral Observation Mission, made up of 104 observers for the elections early legislative elections scheduled for Sunday.
The joint mission, which arrived on November 12 and 13, has the mandate to observe the last days of the electoral campaign, the voting operations on election day, and the closing and counting procedures.
The delegation is led by experienced figures like Francis Alex Tsega, former Ghana ambassador to Spain, for ECOWAS, and Calixte Aristide Mbari, head of the Democracy, Elections and Constitutionalism Division of the African Union, for ‘UA, according to a press release.
Observers include representatives of election management bodies, civil society organizations, academics and electoral experts. Their objective is to guarantee the transparency of the vote and to formulate, if necessary, recommendations to strengthen the Senegalese electoral process, these Commissions indicate.
The mission plans to collaborate with local and international actors in the electoral process to collect information and share its observations. A preliminary statement on the conduct of the elections will be presented on November 19, 2024, followed by a detailed final report which will be accessible to Senegalese stakeholders.
According to an ECOWAS press release, its mission includes 90 members representing various bodies: the Community Court of Justice, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the electoral management bodies of the Member States, civil society organizations and a technical team from the Commission. .
The Senegalese go to the polls next Sunday to elect deputies for the new National Assembly. The single-round ballot, which will mobilize a total of 7 million 371,890 registered voters, will renew the 165 seats in the National Assembly for five years. A total of 41 lists of candidates are in the running, including political parties, coalitions and entities bringing together independent candidates.
The voting method combines a one-round majority vote and a proportional vote, according to the Electoral Code. As part of the majority vote, 112 seats will be filled, including 97 for the national territory and 15 for the diaspora. Each department elects between 1 and 7 deputies, depending on its population, while the diaspora constituencies elect between 1 and 3 deputies.
At the same time, 53 seats will be allocated according to a proportional ballot on a national list. Each party will obtain a share of seats proportional to its share of the votes obtained nationally.
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