At stake in this election:

• The office of President of Senegal

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Abdoulaye WADE *
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Cheikh Hadjibou SOUMARE
• Assembly: Senegal has a unicameral National Assembly (Assemblée Nationale) with 120 seats.

* The President is elected by absolute majority vote to serve a 5-year term which is renewable once.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by absolute majority vote to serve a 5-year term.
• In the National Assembly (Assemblée Nationale), 55 members are elected through a party-list proportional representation system to serve 5-year terms and 65 members are elected by majority vote in single-member constituencies to serve 5-year terms.

Main Candidates in the Presidential race:

• Idrissa SECK
  • Party: Rewmi Party
• Talla SYLLA
  • Party: Jef/Jel Party
• Ousmane TANOR DIENG
  • Party: Socialist Party (PS)
• Abdoulaye BATHILY
  • Party: Democratic League-Labor Party Movement (LD/MPT)
• Abdoulaye WADE
  • Party: Senegalese Democratic Party (PDS)
• Moustapha NIASSE
  • Party: Alliance of Forces of Progress (AFP)
• Landing SAVANÉ
  • Party: And-Jef/African Party for Democracy and Socialism (AJ/PADS)
• Robert SAGNA********
  • Party: Democratic Solidarity

******** Robert SAGNA is a dissident of the formerly ruling Parti Socialiste du Sénégal (PSS). In December 2006, he announced he would run under the banner of the newly-formed Democratic Solidarity party.

Last Presidential election:

• Presidential elections were last held on election last held on 27 February and March 19, 2000 under prior constitution which provides for a seven-year presidential term. Abdoulaye WADE (PDS) was elected president with 58.5% against Abdou DIOUF (PS) with 41.5%.

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 11,897,230 (2007)
• Registered Voters: 4,917,157 (January 2007 est.)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 6,068,241 (2007)

·         Is Senegal a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (29 July 1980)

·         Has Senegal ratified CEDAW: Yes (5 February 1985)

·         Gender Quota: Yes[2]

·         Female candidates in this election: No

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 23 (following the 2001 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 170 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Medium (2014)

Disability Data:

·         Is Senegal a signatory to CRPD: Yes (25 April 2007)

·         Has Senegal ratified CRPD: Yes (7 September 2010)

·         Population with a disability: 1,784,584 (est.)