Senegal

7 Key Takeaways: Cost of Politics

Population: 17.3 million
Head of Government: President Bassirou Diomaye Faye
Ruling party/coalition: Yewwi Askan Wi
Last election: 2022
Next election: 2027
Number of registered voters: 7.4 million (2021)
Annual salary of member of legislature: CFA 15.6 million (US$28,597)
Year of study: 2017 and 2024

Collecting sponsorships is also a costly operation. It requires considerable logistics to travel to at least seven regions of the country to collect the number of signatures needed to validate the list of candidates.

Campaign expenditure covers both "formal" items - budgeted expenditure on communication, logistics and other campaign activities - and more "informal" items - money and gifts to religious and traditional dignitaries.

The two coalitions that obtained the best results in the election and the most seats in the National Assembly were those that deployed the most resources during the campaign period.

Elected MPs can spend as much as half their official monthly salary responding to requests from constituents

As much as 10% of a MPs salary is expected to be contributed to the party of which they are a member.

The funding mechanisms are hidden and often leave no trace known to the general public. The only visible reality is the circulation of money during election campaigns.

Money has become an element of exclusion from political life in Senegal. Women are the first victims because they have less access to resources than men.

Key Findings

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Context

Except for the period from 1963 to 1976, when the country experienced a single-party system, elections have always been hotly contested since independence.
Senegal has a mixed system for electing deputies. Legislative elections combine majority and proportional representation. 53 MPs are elected by proportional representation from a national list and 112 by majority voting. For the latter type of election, 97 seats are divided between the country's 46 departments with the remaining 15 seats allocated across diaspora constituencies.
Of the 165 parliamentary seats, women hold 73 seats. In 2010, the National Assembly passed a law introducing "absolute gender parity" in all elective institutions, with lists of candidates alternating between men and women. In practice, however, as the heads of lists in elections are almost always men and the number of candidates elected on the same list is often odd, female representation remains below 50%. Nevertheless, in the new legislature, more than 44% of the seats in the National Assembly elected in July 2022 are held by women, the highest proportion in any parliament in West Africa.
In 2022 the Yewwi Askan Wi ("Liberate the people" in Wolof) coalition with the help of another coalition, Wallu Sénégal ("Save Senegal"), won 80 of the 165 seats in the legislative elections. This was the first time in Senegal's legislative history that the opposition had won so many seats in the National Assembly.

Cost of politics drivers

To get elected to parliament, candidates are expected to undertake certain activities which require the availability of vast financial resources. These activities include, among other things, frequent travelling with the campaign team in order to stay in touch with voters; regular visits to religious and traditional authorities which cannot be done without giving gifts; running costs for political rallies and making contributions to various family ceremonies of constituency voters.
Senegal is a country where religious or traditional leaders still enjoy a certain level of influence and legitimacy which places them at the heart of electoral ‘bartering’. Without their support or blessing, it becomes very difficult for candidates to get elected.
Collecting sponsorships is also a costly operation. It requires considerable logistics to travel to at least seven regions of the country to collect the number of signatures needed to validate the list of candidates.
In 2022, money was a decisive factor in the results of the vote, which placed the three coalitions - Benno Bokk Yakaar, Yewwi Askan Wi and Wallu Sénégal - in the lead, as they and their candidates were able to deploy a great deal of financial, logistical and human resources to campaign.
Once elected, Senegalese MPs are also faced with a variety of financial burdens. On the one hand, there are the costs associated with requests from activists (help with family ceremonies, health care) and, on the other, costs associated with participation in socio-cultural or sporting events for which the MP is chosen as sponsor, thus requiring his or her financial contribution. There is also an expectation from political parties that they elected members will provide a monthly contribution to the party.

Source of funds

The lack of transparency surrounding money spent on election campaigns in Senegal can be explained by the fact that the country has no law governing their funding: there is therefore no traceability of candidates' campaign expenses, including for legislative elections.
The candidates interviewed for this study were not very forthcoming about the sources of funding for their campaigns, apart from the funds made available to them by their parties or coalitions. Most were content to say that they had received financial support from friends or well-wishers.

Impacts on participation and democracy

Money isan obstacle to optimum participation by women and young people in parliamentary politics. Their political careers generally depend on co-optation by other politicians who act as sponsors.
In the current configuration, the sums needed to run a campaign are likely to keep out competent but under-resourced candidates. Despite the significant increase in the number of women in the National Assembly, some observers feel that the quality of their political participation still leaves something to be desired.
Even though all the participants in this study agreed that money is an obstacle to young people's political participation, many felt that the internal organisation of parties does not favour young people's ascent either. Young people very often occupy marginal positions in party bodies, and it is not uncommon for people in their forties to be placed at the head of political parties' youth movements.
The current political system in Senegal allows political parties with greater financial resources to obtain the largest number of seats in the National Assembly. Until 2022, the coalition supporting the President of the Republic systematically obtained an absolute majority in the legislature. This coalition can not only use state resources for its electoral campaigns, but can also place its main leaders in positions that give them access to public resources to maintain their political networks, thus creating a clear imbalance in electoral competition.
The lack of transparency surrounding the sources of funding for election campaigns is also a serious threat to Senegalese democracy. Without an obligation to reveal the sources of their funding, candidates in legislative elections may give themselves to the highest bidders, thereby defending particular interests to the detriment of the people.

Conclusions and recommendations

The effective application of the law on political parties in order to rationalise the number of parties - over 300 to date according to the Ministry of the Interior - and to ensure greater transparency in the use of money in politics is needed. Although the law currently requires political parties to file their financial statements every year, very few do so.
Set up a body to audit campaign accounts or, failing that, entrust this task to the Audit Court. A financial agent should also be appointed to manage the account and liaise with the audit body.
Promote and facilitate independent candidatures for legislative elections, which could further encourage the participation of young people and women outside the traditional political party system.
Open discussions on the conditions and procedures for introducing a law on the funding of political parties from the state budget should be prioritised. The drafting of this law could be inspired by best practice elsewhere in the world.
There is a need to communicate more on the role of MPs to put an end to the misconception that politicians are ‘social charities’.

Lire le 2024 rapport

Read the 2017 brief

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