View source for Senegalese Democratic Party

{{Short description|Political party in Senegal}}
{{Infobox political party
| country          = Senegal
| name             = Senegalese Democratic Party
| native_name      = Parti démocratique sénégalais
| logo             = Senegalese Democratic Party logo.png
| secretary_general = [[Abdoulaye Wade]]
| foundation       = 31 July 1974
| colours          = [[Blue]]
| colorcode        = {{party color|Senegalese Democratic Party}}
| headquarters     = [[Dakar]], [[Senegal]]
| ideology         = [[Liberalism]]<br />[[Economic liberalism]]<ref>{{cite web | url=https://africaelects.com/senegal/ | title=Senegal • Africa Elects }}</ref>
| position         = [[Centrism|Centre]]
| international    = [[Liberal International]]
| national         = [[Takku Wallu Sénégal]]
| continental      = [[Africa Liberal Network]]
| seats1_title     = [[National Assembly (Senegal)|National Assembly]]
| seats1           = {{Composition bar|0|150|hex={{party color|Senegalese Democratic Party}}}}
| seats2_title     = 
| seats2           = 
| website          = 
}}
The '''Senegalese Democratic Party''' ({{langx|fr|Parti démocratique sénégalais}}) is a political party in [[Senegal]].  The party considers itself a [[Liberalism|liberal]] party and is a member of the [[Liberal International]]. [[Abdoulaye Wade]], who was President of Senegal from 2000 to 2012, is the party's leader. The PDS ruled together with smaller parties as part of the [[Sopi Coalition]]. Since Wade's defeat in the 2012 presidential election, the PDS has been the main opposition party.

==History==
At a summit of the [[Organization of African Unity]] in [[Mogadishu]] in 1974, Wade told President [[Léopold Sédar Senghor]] that he wanted to start a new party, and Senghor agreed to this. The PDS was founded on 31 July 1974 and recognized on 8 August.<ref name=Dioh>Tidiane Dioh, [http://www.jeuneafrique.com/jeune_afrique/article_jeune_afrique.asp?art_cle=LIN21102souslelarbi0 "Sous l'étiquette libérale"], ''Jeune Afrique'', 21 October 2002 {{in lang|fr}}.</ref> In its first constitutive congress, held on 31 January – 1 February 1976, the PDS described itself as a party of labor, but soon afterwards a law was introduced according to which three parties were allowed in Senegal: a socialist party, a Marxist–Leninist party, and a liberal party. The first two categories were already taken, and the PDS assumed the role of a liberal party rather than be dissolved.<ref name=Dioh/>

Abdoulaye Wade is the Secretary General of the PDS and has led the party since its foundation in 1974.<ref name=Profile>''Profiles of People in Power: The World's Government Leaders'' (2003), page 457.</ref><ref>[http://www.sopionline.com/sg.htm Profile of Wade] at PDS web site {{in lang|fr}}.</ref> The PDS joined the Liberal International at the latter's Berlin Congress in 1980.<ref>[http://www.liberal-international.org/editorial.asp?ia_id=771 PDS page] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926234725/http://www.liberal-international.org/editorial.asp?ia_id=771 |date=2007-09-26 }} at Liberal International.</ref>

The PDS participated, along with the ruling [[Socialist Party of Senegal|Socialist Party]], in a national unity government that was formed in 1991, but withdrew from it on October 20, 1992, saying that the Socialist Party had monopolized control of the government and marginalized the PDS. Wade ran against the Socialist incumbent, [[Abdou Diouf]], in the [[Senegalese presidential election, 1993|February 1993 presidential election]], but lost to Diouf, receiving 32% of the vote against Diouf's 58%. In the subsequent [[Senegalese parliamentary election, 1993|May 1993 parliamentary election]], the PDS won 27 out of 120 seats in the National Assembly. The PDS and the Socialist Party began discussing the formation of another government together, but this was aborted by the assassination of Constitutional Council vice-president [[Babacar Sèye]] on May 15; because the PDS had been critical of Sèye, they were suspected of responsibility for the killing. The PDS then joined the Bokk Sopi Senegaal opposition coalition, in which it remained until rejoining the government in March 1995.<ref>Richard Vengroff and Lucy Creevey, "Senegal: The Evolution of a Quasi Democracy", in ''Political Reform in Francophone Africa'' (1997), ed. Clark and Gardinier, pages 207&ndash;209.</ref>

Between 2005 and 2012 the PDS was associated with the international party network [[Alliance of Democrats (political international)|Alliance of Democrats]]. Within Senegal, the party has been part of the Patriotic Front for the Defence of the Republic since 2014 with [[And-Jëf/African Party for Democracy and Socialism]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/politicalhandboo0000unse_f0m6|title=Political handbook of the world 2015|others=Lansford, Tom|isbn=9781483371580|location=Los Angeles, California|oclc=912321323|url-access=registration|date=2015-03-24}}</ref>

After running alone in the [[2012 Senegalese parliamentary election|2012 election]], the PDS contested the following elections as part of opposition alliances, [[Manko Wattu Sénégal]] in [[2017 Senegalese parliamentary election|2017]] and [[Wallu Sénégal]] in [[2022 Senegalese parliamentary election|2022]]. The party succeeded in gradually increasing its parliamentary representation, up to 24 MPs in 2022, but didn't prevent Macky Sall from forming a government after both elections.

== Election results ==

=== Presidential elections ===
{| class=wikitable style=text-align:center
! rowspan="2" |Election
! rowspan="2" |Party candidate
!'''Votes'''
!'''%'''
!'''Votes'''
!'''%'''
! rowspan="2" |Result 
|-
! colspan="2" |First Round
! colspan="2" |Second Round
|-
![[Senegalese general election, 1978|1978]]
| rowspan="7" |[[Abdoulaye Wade]]
|174,817
|17.8%
|colspan=2 {{N/A}}
|'''Lost''' {{N}}
|-
![[Senegalese general election, 1983|1983]]
|161,067
|14.79%
|colspan=2 {{N/A}}
|'''Lost''' {{N}}
|-
![[Senegalese general election, 1988|1988]]
|291,869
|25.80%
|colspan=2 {{N/A}}
|'''Lost''' {{N}}
|-
![[Senegalese presidential election, 1993|1993]]
|415,295
|32.03%
|colspan=2 {{N/A}}
|'''Lost''' {{N}}
|-
![[Senegalese presidential election, 2000|2000]]
|518,740
|31.01%
|969,332
|58.49%
|'''Won''' {{Y}}
|-
![[Senegalese presidential election, 2007|2007]]
|1,914,403
|55.90%
|colspan=2 {{N/A}}
|'''Won''' {{Y}}
|-
![[Senegalese presidential election, 2012|2012]]
|942,327
|34.81%
|992,556
|34.20%
|'''Lost''' {{N}}
|}
Wade ran in every presidential election from 1978 to 2012, finally becoming elected President of Senegal in 2000 against incumbent President [[Abdou Diouf]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-16905528|title=Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade's rise and rule|last=Cornado|first=Estelle|date=2012-03-26|work=BBC News|access-date=2018-06-07|language=en-GB}}</ref> Wade was reelected in the first round of the [[Senegalese presidential election, 2007|2007 election]], but went on to lose the [[Senegalese presidential election, 2012|2012 election]] to former Prime Minister [[Macky Sall]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-17508098|title=Senegal's Sall marks poll victory|date=2012-03-26|work=BBC News|access-date=2018-06-07|language=en-GB}}</ref>

=== National Assembly elections ===
{| class=wikitable style=text-align:center
!Election
!Party leader
!Votes
!%
!Seats
!+/–
!'''Position'''
!'''Outcome'''
|-
![[Senegalese general election, 1978|1978]]
| rowspan="11" |[[Abdoulaye Wade]]
|172,948
|17.88%
|{{Infobox political party/seats|18|100|{{party color|Senegalese Democratic Party}}}}
|New
|{{increase}} 2nd
|{{no2|Opposition}}
|-
![[Senegalese general election, 1983|1983]]
|150,785
|13.97%
|{{Infobox political party/seats|8|120|{{party color|Senegalese Democratic Party}}}}
|{{decrease}} 10
|{{steady}} 2nd
|{{no2|Opposition}}
|-
![[Senegalese general election, 1983|1988]]
|275,552
|24.74%
|{{Infobox political party/seats|17|120|{{party color|Senegalese Democratic Party}}}}
|{{increase}} 9
|{{steady}} 2nd
|{{no2|Opposition}}
|-
![[Senegalese parliamentary election, 1993|1993]]
|321,585
|30.21%
|{{Infobox political party/seats|27|120|{{party color|Senegalese Democratic Party}}}}
|{{increase}} 10
|{{steady}} 2nd
|{{no2|Opposition}}
|-
![[Senegalese parliamentary election, 1998|1998]]
|233,287
|19.1%
|{{Infobox political party/seats|23|140|{{party color|Senegalese Democratic Party}}}}
|{{decrease}} 4
|{{steady}} 2nd
|{{no2|Opposition}}
|-
![[Senegalese parliamentary election, 2001|2001]]{{efn|Run within [[Sopi Coalition]].}}
|931,617
|49.6%
|{{Infobox political party/seats|89|120|{{party color|Senegalese Democratic Party}}}}
|{{increase}} 66
|{{increase}} 1st
|{{yes2|Coalition}}<br />{{small|([[Sopi Coalition]])}}
|-
![[Senegalese parliamentary election, 2007|2007]]{{efn|Run within [[Sopi 2007]] coalition.}}
|1,190,609
|69.21%
|{{Infobox political party/seats|131|150|{{party color|Senegalese Democratic Party}}}}
|{{increase}} 42
|{{steady}} 1st
|{{yes2|Coalition}}<br />{{small|([[Sopi 2007]])}}
|-
![[Senegalese parliamentary election, 2012|2012]]
|298,846
|15.23%
| style="text-align:center;" |{{Infobox political party/seats|12|150|{{party color|Senegalese Democratic Party}}}}
|{{decrease}} 113
|{{decrease}} 2nd
|{{no2|Opposition}}
|-
![[Senegalese parliamentary election, 2017|2017]]{{efn|Run within [[Manko Wattu Sénégal]] coalition.}}
|552,095
|16.68%
|{{Infobox political party/seats|19|165|{{party color|Senegalese Democratic Party}}}}
|{{increase}} 7
|{{steady}} 2nd
|{{no2|Opposition}}
|-
![[2022 Senegalese parliamentary election|2022]]{{efn|Run within [[Wallu Sénégal]] coalition.}}
|471,517
|14.46%
|{{Infobox political party/seats|24|165|{{party color|Senegalese Democratic Party}}}}
|{{increase}} 5
|{{decrease}} 3rd
|{{no2|Opposition}}
|-
![[2024 Senegalese parliamentary election|2024]]{{efn|Run as part of the [[Takku Wallu Sénégal]] coalition.}}
|531,466
|14.67%
|{{Infobox political party/seats|16|165|{{party color|Senegalese Democratic Party}}}}
|{{Decrease}} 8
|{{increase}} 2nd
|{{no2|Opposition}}
|}
{{Notelist}}

== See also ==
*[[Liberal Pupils and Students Movement]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.sopionline.com/ Official website]

{{Senegalese political parties}}
{{interlib}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Political parties in Senegal]]
[[Category:1974 establishments in Senegal]]
[[Category:Political parties established in 1974]]
[[Category:Full member parties of the Liberal International|Senegal]]
[[Category:Liberal parties in Senegal]]