Why Senegal’s electoral system keeps falling short: the forces behind Khalidou dit Mbaye Sokoma’s reform push
The debate over how Senegal builds a more solid democracy has entered a decisive phase. In a detailed contribution, Khalidou dit Mbaye Sokoma, president of the Mouvement Patriotique pour un Développement Durable (MPPD) / AND DEFAR SUNU REEW, is calling for a serious rethink of the country’s voting system. His stated goal: a political representation that mirrors the popular vote more faithfully, stays closer to citizens, and is rooted in the realities of each territory.
Why the current system is seen as imperfect
Senegal’s legislative elections currently rest on a hybrid architecture that blends a single-round majority list vote with proportional representation. Of the 165 seats in the National Assembly, 112 are filled through the majority system and 53 through proportional representation on a national list. For municipal elections, the mixed system combines 45% majority seats and 55% proportional seats.
For Khalidou dit Mbaye Sokoma, this arrangement has shown its limits and deserves a fresh examination so that the makeup of assemblies reflects as closely as possible the actual votes cast by citizens. The underlying question is not merely technical: it is about whether voters can see their choices translated into real power.
1. A stronger proportional model with deeper local roots
One of the flagship ideas in the proposal is the introduction of a fully proportional vote for both legislative and local elections, while keeping a genuine territorial anchor.
The aim is not simply to allocate seats according to parties’ electoral weight, but to rebuild the link between elected officials and those who elect them. To that end, candidacies should open beyond party machines to include citizens’ movements, independent candidates, and, under strict conditions, civil society and competent state services. Nominations would thus take root in the heart of neighbourhoods and villages, rewarding local presence and popular trust.
2. Redefining the role of the MP: from party to territory
The relationship between citizen, territory and representative needs to be rethought. The proposal stresses the need for MPs who are clearly identifiable by their constituents and required to report back regularly. Political parties would keep their supporting role, but would no longer hold a monopoly on representation: the figure of the “party’s MP” would give way to that of the “MP chosen by citizens and carried by a territory.”
3. Stabilising and clarifying the local vote
Applied to municipal and departmental elections, this stronger proportional system would better reflect the diversity of political views within a commune. However, this openness must go hand in hand with stable local executives. Khalidou dit Mbaye Sokoma suggests introducing a second round when no list reaches an absolute majority of votes (50%), allowing a clear choice between competing forces, subject to a prior study of the legal and financial implications.
4. A territorialised electoral administration
To complete the framework, the local organisation of elections could rely more on prefects and sub-prefects within their respective areas, under the control of the national body and in strict respect of impartiality and equality. Such territorialisation would encourage dialogue with grassroots communities.
5. The special case of Kaolack: towards a new local organisation
For Kaolack, a city spanning nearly 6,959 hectares (69.6 km²), structured into 45 neighbourhoods and home to a considerable population (1,336,720 inhabitants according to the RGPH-5 of 2023), the author recommends a specific approach.
Given its urban growth and economic role, he advocates studying the creation of three or four arrondissement communes or local municipal entities. Such a change would rest on rigorous criteria: demography, infrastructure, living areas, tax resources and administrative capacity.
The bigger picture behind the proposal
In the end, the quality of a democracy is measured by how clearly citizens can see their vote turned into seats and can identify their spokespeople. Khalidou dit Mbaye Sokoma is therefore calling for a broad, pluralistic and well-documented national debate to give Senegal a system in which every citizen, every neighbourhood and every village truly counts in choosing the nation’s representatives.
