Socialist Party of Senegal
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox political party The Socialist Party of Senegal (Template:Langx, PS) is a political party in Senegal . It was the ruling party in Senegal from independence in 1960 until 2000.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> In 2000, the party's candidate and previous incumbent president, Abdou Diof, was defeated by the leader of the Senegalese Democratic Party, Abdoulaye Wade.<ref name=":46">Template:Cite journal</ref>
Ousmane Tanor Dieng has been the First Secretary of the Socialist Party of Senegal since 1996 and was the presidential candidate in 2007 and 2012. The best-known figure of the party was Léopold Sédar Senghor, the first president of Senegal. The Socialist Party of Senegal's goal is to work on the implementation of democratic socialism into Senegal's political atmosphere.<ref name=":29">Template:Cite web</ref> The implementation of democratic socialism includes the establishment of an open, democratic, and humanitarian society while preserving African identity.<ref name=":29" /> Since 1976, the Socialist Party of Senegal is the official socialist party choice for the country.<ref name=":46" />
The Socialist Party of Senegal is a full member of the Socialist International. As of 2018, there were about 1.2 million party members.<ref name=":29" />
Political history
The Socialist Party of Senegal was first created in 1958 right before Senegal gained independence.<ref name=":06">Template:Cite journal</ref> The Party was founded by Leopold Sedar Senghor and it was in power under him politically from 1960 to 1980.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The Socialist Party of Senegal was initially known as the Senegalese Progressive Union (Union Progressiste Senegalaise, UPS).<ref name=":06" /> Senghor had founded the Senegalese Democratic Bloc in 1948 and in 1958 it merged with another political party to become the UPS.<ref name=":14">Template:Cite news</ref> The UPS became the ruling party of Senegal in 1960 once independence was gained. The UPS officially was known as the Socialist Party of Senegal starting in 1976.<ref name=":14" />
When Senegal gained independence in 1960, Senghor was unanimously elected president to Senegal's new republic system.<ref name=":14" /> He was elected president on 5 September 1960.<ref name=":53">Template:Cite web</ref> He had served in the French Constituent Assembly since 1945, therefore he already had political experience when elected president.<ref name=":53" /> In the early 1960s, there was a personal and political rivalry between President Senghor and Prime Minister Mamadoua Dia. In 1962, there was a coup attempt.<ref name=":63">Template:Cite journal</ref> Dia accepted blame and was sent to prison as a result.<ref name=":06" /> A new constitution took effect in 1963 and Senegal's parliamentary system became a centralized presidential system.<ref name=":63" /> In 1963, Senghor ran unopposed for president and consequently won. By 1966, Senegal was considered a one-party state.<ref name=":46" /> This occurred because Senghor was running unopposed as president and the economic stability of Senegal began to fade.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Senegal relied heavily on peanut-farming and this source of economic stability was in decline.<ref name=":46" /> Single-party rule prevented an overwhelming economic crisis and ensured social stability in Senegal, which was appealing to people in the country.<ref name=":06" /> In the 1990s, Senegal's status as a democracy was called into question because it seemed impossible to remove the Socialist Party of Senegal from office.<ref name=":46" />
There was no legal political opposition to the Socialist Party of Senegal until 1974, which is when Abdoulaye Wade obtained legal permission from Senghor to create a new party. He created the Senegalese Democratic Party.<ref name=":36">Template:Cite web</ref> Starting in 1978, Wade's party began to start winning seats in the National Assembly. This was the beginning of Senegal moving from an essentially single-party system into a more competitive system.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Leopold Sedar Senghor voluntarily resigned from position of president in 1980 and Abdou Diouf came into power as Senghor's hand-picked successor.<ref name=":06" /> Senghor became the first African head of state to voluntarily retire.<ref name=":46" />
In the 2000 presidential election, the Socialist Party of Senegal was defeated and was no longer the ruling party for the first time in 40 years.<ref name=":46" /> Abdou Diouf, the 19-year incumbent of the Socialist Party, was defeated by Abdoulaye Wade. The removal of Diouf from office by an election broke the political monopoly the Socialist Party had on Senegal and helped establish Senegal as one of the African countries with the most advanced democracies.<ref name=":06" /> Senegal became one of the first African countries to remove the head of government by voting instead of a coup or violent measures.<ref name=":46" /> Wade was the candidate from the Senegalese Democratic Party and had been the leader of the political opposition against the Socialist Party for about 25 years.<ref name=":29" />
In the 2007 and 2012 presidential elections, Ousmane Tanor Dieng unsuccessfully ran. In 2007, the Socialist Party participated in a boycott of the June 2007 parliamentary elections and has not held seats in the National Assembly since.<ref name=":36" /> Since 2012 the party has run in the parliamentary elections as part of the United in Hope coalition, the coalition of the presidential majority in support of Macky Sall.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Election results
Presidential elections
Senegal is a republic with a presidency. The president is elected every 7 years (previously every 5 years until 2001 and between 2007 and 2012) by the adult Senegalese population.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The 2000 Senegalese presidential election ended 40 years of dominance by the Socialist Party of Senegal.<ref name=":06" /> The party's candidate, incumbent president Abdou Diouf, was defeated by the leader of the Senegalese Democratic Party, Abdoulaye Wade, in a second round of voting.<ref name=":46" /> Diouf received the most votes, 41.3%, in the first round, but in the second round he received only 41.51% against Wade.<ref name=":74">Template:Cite journal</ref> Ousmane Tanor Dieng was the party's candidate in the 2007 Senegalese presidential election; he took third place with 13.56% of the vote. He was also the candidate in the 2012 Senegalese presidential election and lost again. In the 2019 Senegalese presidential election, the party did not field a candidate.
| Election | Party candidate | Votes | % | Votes | % | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Round | Second Round | |||||
| 1963 | Léopold Sédar Senghor | 1,149,935 | 100% | colspan=2 Template:N/A | Won Template:Y | |
| 1968 | 1,229,927 | 100% | colspan=2 Template:N/A | Won Template:Y | ||
| 1973 | 1,357,056 | 100% | colspan=2 Template:N/A | Won Template:Y | ||
| 1978 | 807,515 | 82.2% | colspan=2 Template:N/A | Won Template:Y | ||
| 1983 | Abdou Diouf | 908,879 | 83.45% | colspan=2 Template:N/A | Won Template:Y | |
| 1988 | 828,301 | 73.20% | colspan=2 Template:N/A | Won Template:Y | ||
| 1993 | 757,311 | 58.40% | colspan=2 Template:N/A | Won Template:Y | ||
| 2000 | 690,917 | 41.30% | 687,969 | 41.51% | Lost Template:N | |
| 2007 | Ousmane Tanor Dieng | 464,287 | 13.56% | colspan=2 Template:N/A | Lost Template:N | |
| 2012 | 305,924 | 11.30% | colspan=2 Template:N/A | Lost Template:N | ||
National Assembly elections
The parliament in Senegal is unicameral and is currently made up of the National Assembly, which has 165 seats (the number of seats have gradually increased over past elections).<ref name=":29" /> There has been periods (1999 to 2001 and 2007 to 2012) where Senegal has also had a Senate, but it was abolished by a constitutional referendum in 2001 and then abolished a second time in 2012.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Elections are held every 5 years.
The Socialist Party of Senegal has held seats in the National Assembly since it was created until 2007.<ref name=":36" /> The Socialist Party of Senegal also previously held Senegalese seats in the French National Assembly starting in 1951 and held 43 out of 50 seats in Senegal's Territorial Assembly starting in 1952.<ref name=":36" />
Since independence, in the 1963, 1968, and 1973 elections the Socialist Party had full control of the National Assembly. In 1973 they lost 18 out of 100 seats to the Senegalese Democratic Party.<ref name=":74" /> In the years after they increasingly lost more seats in the National Assembly.<ref name=":36" /> The Socialist Party of Senegal finally lost majority in the National Assembly in April 2001 when the Senegalese Democratic Party won 89 of the 120 seats.<ref name=":29" /> In the 2001 election, the party only won 17.4% of the popular vote and 10 out of 120 seats.
In June 2007, the Socialist Party of Senegal boycotted the parliamentary elections. They have not held seats in the National Assembly since then, holding zero seats in 2007, 2012, and 2017. Since 2012 the party has run in the parliamentary elections as part of the United in Hope coalition, the coalition of the presidential majority in support of Macky Sall.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
See also
References
External links
Template:Senegalese political parties Template:Authority control
- African and Black nationalist parties in Africa
- African socialist political parties
- Democratic socialist parties in Africa
- Full member parties of the Socialist International
- Parties of one-party systems
- Political parties in Senegal
- Progressive Alliance
- Social democratic parties in Africa
- Socialist parties in Senegal