This Sunday, 17 November 2024, 7 million 33 850 Senegalese are voting to elect 165 deputies to the National Assembly using a voting system combining two methods: the first past-the-post and the proportional representation systems.

Of the 165 seats in contention, one hundred and twelve (112) are being filled under the first past-the-post system, including fifteen (15) seats for the diaspora, while 53 other seats are being elected under the proportional representation system.

In the early hours of Election Day, the Heads of the ECOWAS-African Union (AU) Joint Election Observation Mission (EOM), Ambassador Francis Alex TSEGAH, Head of the ECOWAS EOM and Coordinator of the Joint Mission, and Ambassador Calixte Aristide MBARI, Head of the AU EOM, toured Dakar, the capital of Senegal, and visited several polling centres to observe the start of the polls.

The Head of the ECOWAS EOM visited polling stations located at École Berthe MAUBERT in the Plateau district, École Hadja Wrath DIENE and École MANGUIERS II in the Médina district. He also went to the Yoff district, where he visited polling stations set up at the El Hadji Demba NDOYE School and the El Hadj Elimane THIAW School, as well as those at the Ecole Elementaire Sacoura BADIANE in the Colobane district.

Ambassador Francis Alex TSEGAH, accompanied by Mr Roland Kouassi AMOUSSOUGA-GERO, Deputy Head of Mission, H.E. Amb. Léné DIMBAN, Togo’s Ambassador to Nigeria, representing the Committee of Permanent Representatives of Member States to ECOWAS, Mr Serigne Mamadou Ka, Acting Head of the Electoral Assistance Division at the ECOWAS Commission, and other members of the technical team also visited the ECOWAS Situation Room and the Electoral Monitoring Unit of the West African Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP Senegal).

Commenting on the initial assessment of the elections at midday following the field visits and a presentation by the ECOWAS Situation Room, Ambassador Francis Alex TSEGAH expressed his satisfaction with the conduct of the voting operations, noting that no major incidents had been reported.

He appreciated the ‘calm and peaceful atmosphere’ that prevailed during the day and during the electoral campaign leading up to the elections, and further called on the population to persevere in this direction.

He also called on the parties and candidates to respect the results that will be officially proclaimed, while urging restraint, to favour consensus-building and to resort only to legal channels in the event of a dispute.

The heads of the Joint ECOWAS-AU Electoral Mission will hold a press conference on 19 November 2024 in Dakar, during which a preliminary statement on the conduct of the polls will be delivered.