 |
| Senegal Country Profile. Source: BBC |
Citizens of the Republic of Senegal both home and abroad on Sunday March 20th, exercised their constitutional right by voting in a referendum aimed at making a series of reforms to the country’s national constitution. According to usnews, more than 5 million people took part in the electoral process to trigger a total of 15 reforms in the constitution.
The proposed changes included measures to strengthen the National Assembly, improve representation for Senegalese abroad, provide greater rights for the opposition and boost participation of independent candidates in elections. Notable among the series of reforms though, is the reduction of the presidential term limit from 7 to 5 years to be effective in the next general election.
The referendum which was not only perceived at establishing the rule of law but also at strengthening and deepening the country’s already steady democracy, was eventually won by the ‘YES’ campaign at 62.9%. Credit therefore is due to the Senegalese people and their leader for spearheading such a historic constitutional reform in Africa. We very much hope that other countries in the continent will follow suit and replicate your laudable efforts.
Unfortunately though, such constitutional reforms are alien to Africa as it is in stark contrast to what we have used to witness in other countries over the years. However, even though democracy is still in its infant stages in the continent, it is fair to say that what Senegal have managed to accomplished truly bodes well for a hopeful future. Despite the debate surrounding the Presidential term limits with most incumbent Heads of State choosing to cherry pick constitutional reforms to suit their needs, there is a new phenomenon around the continent that is worth taking note of. African elections have been synonymous with violence for a very long time but this is the complete opposite to what is happening right now.
Dubbed Super Sunday, 20th March 2016 saw a total of total of six countries including Tanzania’s semi-autonomous region of Zanzibar held elections of different types. Presidential elections were held in Benin, Niger and the Democratic Republic of Congo respectively. And as already mentioned, Senegal held a referendum for constitutional reforms while Cape Verde conducted legislative elections. Voters in Zanzibar meanwhile went back to the polls for a rerun of last year’s nullified elections.
In what could only be described as a victory for African democracy, all but one of the six elections were carried out peacefully according to observers. Except for some reported communications blackout in DRC which escalalted no further. Still long way to go AFRICA but this is surely the right way forward.
The proposed changes included measures to strengthen the National Assembly, improve representation for Senegalese abroad, provide greater rights for the opposition and boost participation of independent candidates in elections. Notable among the series of reforms though, is the reduction of the presidential term limit from 7 to 5 years to be effective in the next general election.
The referendum which was not only perceived at establishing the rule of law but also at strengthening and deepening the country’s already steady democracy, was eventually won by the ‘YES’ campaign at 62.9%. Credit therefore is due to the Senegalese people and their leader for spearheading such a historic constitutional reform in Africa. We very much hope that other countries in the continent will follow suit and replicate your laudable efforts.
Unfortunately though, such constitutional reforms are alien to Africa as it is in stark contrast to what we have used to witness in other countries over the years. However, even though democracy is still in its infant stages in the continent, it is fair to say that what Senegal have managed to accomplished truly bodes well for a hopeful future. Despite the debate surrounding the Presidential term limits with most incumbent Heads of State choosing to cherry pick constitutional reforms to suit their needs, there is a new phenomenon around the continent that is worth taking note of. African elections have been synonymous with violence for a very long time but this is the complete opposite to what is happening right now.
Dubbed Super Sunday, 20th March 2016 saw a total of total of six countries including Tanzania’s semi-autonomous region of Zanzibar held elections of different types. Presidential elections were held in Benin, Niger and the Democratic Republic of Congo respectively. And as already mentioned, Senegal held a referendum for constitutional reforms while Cape Verde conducted legislative elections. Voters in Zanzibar meanwhile went back to the polls for a rerun of last year’s nullified elections.
In what could only be described as a victory for African democracy, all but one of the six elections were carried out peacefully according to observers. Except for some reported communications blackout in DRC which escalalted no further. Still long way to go AFRICA but this is surely the right way forward.
No comments:
Post a Comment