Senegalese Local Elections

25 March 2009

Senegal went to the polls on Sunday for the country’s local elections. Although official results aren’t expected for a few days, initial results suggest that the President’s ruling SOPI coalition has lost control of the council in Dakar and other key cities such as St Louis and Louga. The opposition coalition Benno Siggil Senegaal (United to boost Senegal) is already claiming victory.

President Abdoulaye Wade has been in power since 2000 when he was elected following four decades of Socialist Party rule since Senegal gained independence from France in 1960. He was re-elected in 2007 and will face the polls again in 2012 when his presidential term ends. It has been suggested his son Karim Wade will stand in the 2012 elections.