President Macky Sall’s Benno Bokk Yaakaar coalition (meaning “United in Hope” and led by former prime minister Aminata Touré in 2022), lost its majority in the 165-member National Assembly (see note). It took 82 seats, down from 125 in 2017. Two opposition coalitions, which formed an electoral alliance in 2022, fared well: Yewwi Askan Wi (“Liberate the People”), a coalition led by Mr. Ousmane Sonko (a candidate in the 2019 presidential election), won 56 seats; and Wallu Sénégal (“Save Senegal”), led by former President Abdoulaye Wade, took 24 seats.

The 2022 elections were the first to be held after the COVID-19 pandemic, which hit the country’s economy and triggered rising fuel and food prices. On 30 May, the Ministry of Interior validated eight national lists of candidates for the 2022 elections but invalidated the list of substitute members for Benno Bokk Yaakaar as well as Yewwi Askan Wi’s national list of titular members, which included Mr. Sonko. On 2 June, the Constitutional Council confirmed the invalidation. Although the Government banned demonstrations, Yewwi Askan Wi members and supporters held mass protests on 17 June. Several opposition members were arrested. On 28 June, a court handed a suspended six-month prison sentence to an opposition MP, Mr. Déthié Fall, for defying the ban on protests.

Note:
A total of 112 seats are filled under the majority system (97 in Senegal and 15 abroad) while 53 other seats are filled under the proportional representation system. In accordance with a presidential decree dated 3 May 2022 (Décret n°2022-1051 du 03 mai 2022), the number of seats filled under the majority system has increased from 90 to 97 due to the creation of a new Department (Keur Massar in the Dakar region) and a population increase in certain Departments, which are therefore entitled to more seats.