In five months, 13 new parties have emerged in Senegal, reports the national daily “Le Soleil” in its delivery this Friday.
This new batch brings to 299 the number of political formations in this country of 15 million inhabitants and an electoral file of only 6 million people. This inflation of political parties has accelerated in recent years. The number of groups with a receipt increased from 3 under the presidency of Léopold Sédar Senghor (1960-1980) to 44 under Abdou Diouf (1980-1999) which legalized 41.
When he came to power in 2000, Abdoulaye Wade legalized 143 parties. Arrived in power in March 2012, Macky Sall is already 111 legalizations. In the long queue, Wade’s record will not last long. The fragmentation of the political field makes the organization of elections tedious. Hence a bill to generalize the sponsorship.
A rationalization denounced by some opposition groups who see it as a way of blocking their way. According to the bill currently being read at the Senegalese assembly, it takes 1% of the electorate, or 65,000 signatures to validate an application.
