Senegal

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Senegal, covering an area of 196,712 square kilometers (75,930 square miles), is the most westerly country in Africa. It has a population of around 10.6 million that belongs to various ethnic groups, the largest of which is the Wolofs (36% of the population), who share similar cultural values with the other ethnic groups (the Fulani and Toucouleur, Serer, Diola, and Mandingo). Islam is the main religion (92%). Agriculture, fishing, and tourism are the country's most important resources. One in five Senegalese live in the capital, Dakar.

Present-day Senegal has been inhabited for more than a thousand years. From the sixteenth century onward European merchants tried to establish their influence. It was, however, only in the nineteenth century that the country became a permanent French possession. In 1960 Senegal became an independent republic with Léopold Sédar Senghor (1906–2001) as its first president. Senghor retired from politics in December 1980.

With the introduction of Senegal's first constitution as an independent country in 1960, the country had a president (Senghor) and a prime minister. As a result of a conflict of power between the two politicians, the constitution was changed in 1963 and a purely presidential system was introduced. From 1966 to 1976 Senegal had a single-party system dominated by the Union Progressiste Sénégalaise (UPS). However, in 1976 the constitution was again amended to introduce a "guided democracy" that allowed for only three political parties, which were supposed to represent the major ideological currents: the socialists (represented by the UPS, which became the Parti Socialiste), the liberals (the Parti Démocratique Sénégalais), and the Marxist-Leninists. After Senghor stepped down as president in 1980, his successor, Abdou Diouf (b. 1935), introduced an integrated multiparty system.

The incumbent president and the ruling party won all the elections while Diouf was in power, although with an ever-decreasing majority. The elections were held in an explosive political and social climate and resulted in riots whose participants demanded sopi (change). Abdoulaye Wade (b. 1926), the leader of the main opposition party, the Parti Démocratique Sénégalais, emerged from each election with increased popularity. Finally, in March 2000, the opposition succeeded in winning the presidential election and Wade became president, ending forty years of Parti Socialiste rule.

After a referendum a new constitution was adopted in January 2001. The executive was given wide-ranging powers: The president, elected for five-year terms, can dissolve parliament, determine the politics of the nation, and appoint the prime minister, who, in consultation with the president, appoints the ministers. In April 2004 Macky Sall (b. 1961) became the fourth prime minister since the political changes in 2000. The team of ministers (thirty-nine in total) is made up of members of the Parti Démocratique Sénégalais and the sopi coalition that brought Wade to power and includes one opposition minister. All are chosen for their unswerving loyalty to the president.

The 120 members of the unicameral National Assembly are also elected for a five-year term by direct popular vote. After the 2001 elections the coalition led by Wade had eighty-nine seats, the Socialist Party had ten, and the rest were held by various smaller parties.

The constitution provides for an independent judiciary, but in practice it is weak and subject to government influence.

Senegal enjoyed a relatively peaceful transition to democracy—a rarity for Africa—and its constitution sanctions the principle of good governance, acknowledges the people's right to oppose government politics, and specifies rights for women (such as property titles). Human rights generally are respected, although prison conditions are poor and lengthy pretrial detentions are common. Constitutional freedom of expression has led to an expansion of the printed media and the setting up of private radio stations. Numerous secular associations (such as unions and students' and women's groups) and Muslim brotherhoods continue to play an influential role in society and politics.

This generally positive image of Senegal is, however, not uncontested. As a result of shortcomings (e.g., corruption, neo-patrimonialism, and a poor

ranking in the United Nations Development Program's human development index) Senegal often is considered a semidemocracy, a quasi-democracy, or a democracy of façades.

In 2000, when sopi became a reality, the Senegalese people's expectations were high, but after six government reshuffles discontent began to grow. Before the elections for the National Assembly in 2006 and the 2007 presidential election President Wade and his team still had most of their promises to fulfil for the Senegalese people.

The southern region of Senegal, the Casamance, is largely cut off from the rest of the country by the Gambia, and the Movement of Democratic Forces in Casamance (MFDC) demanded independence in 1982, leading to ongoing conflict. This protracted, low-intensity war between the Senegalese forces and the MFDC has resulted in the killing of several thousand people, human rights abuses by both sides, and the mistreatment of journalists. The economy of this potentially rich region has suffered badly. On December 30, 2004, Senegal's government signed a peace pact with the separatist movement aimed at ending one of West Africa's longest-running insurgencies.

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Diop, Momar-Coumba, ed. Le Sénégal Contemporain. Paris: Karthala, 2002.

Freedom House. "Senegal." Freedom in the World 2004. New York: Freedom House, 2004. <http://www.freedomhouse.org/res earch/freeworld/2004/countryratings/sen egal.htm>.

Lefèbvre, François. "Country Report Senegal." The Courier ACP-EU 196 (January–February 2003). <http://europa.eu.int/comm/devel opment/body/publications/courier/index_ 196_en.htm>.

U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. "Senegal." Country Reports on Human Rights, 2004. <http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/ hrrpt/2003/27748.htm>.

Vengroff, Richard, and Michael Magala. "Democratic Reform, Transition and Consolidation: Evidence from Senegal's 2000 Presidential Election." The Journal of Modern African Studies 39, no. 1 (2001):129–162.

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