Senegal: Referendum, 20 March 2016

At stake in this election:

• This referendum includes 15 reforms, the most notable being a reduction of presidential terms from 7 to 5 years.

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Macky SALL (since 2 April 2012)
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Mohammed Abdallah Boun DIONNE (since 4 July 2014)
• Assembly: Senegal has a unicameral Assemblee Nationale (National Assembly) composed of 150 seats with members serving 5-year terms.

Electoral Requirements:

• The referendum will be decided by majority of cast votes.

About the referendum:

• If the referendum is passed, presidential term limits will be shortened from 7 years to 5, but this change will not take effect until the current 7-year term has concluded in 2019. This referendum also includes several other topics relating to democratic governmental practices.[1]

Population and number of registered voters:

·         Population: 13,975,834 (July 2015 est.)

·         Registered Voters: 5,368,783 (2012)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 7,216,426 (July 2015 est.)

·         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: N/A

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 64 (42.67%)

·         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: 2,096,375