Electoral commission confirms Senegal ruling coalition landslide

The results of the July 30 legislative elections were published by the National Vote Counting Commission (CNRV) through the public APS news agency, and though official still need to be validated by the country’s constitutional council.

The presidential coalition Benno Bokk Yaakaar (BBY) took 49.48 percent of votes in Senegal’s list system, while the coalitions of ex-president Abdoulaye Wade and Dakar Mayor Khalifa Sall trailed massively, delivering them 19 seats and seven seats respectively.

Fourteen parties will be represented in the national parliament, where for the first time half a million Senegalese living abroad will be represented by 15 “diaspora” lawmakers.

The results will bolster Sall’s chances of pushing through his agenda ahead of presidential elections in 2019 in which he is eyeing a second term.

Turnout was 54 percent among Senegal’s 6.2 million registered voters, an increase on voting in 2012.

There were a record 47 lists of candidates contesting the election, and clashes between supporters of President Sall, Wade and Mayor Sall led to several arrests during the campaign.