20091211

A coalition comprising major Senegalese opposition parties have opted out of an ongoing national consultation which is reviewing the country's electoral codes. The opposition "Benno Siggil Senegal" (a group of 34 opposition parties) is unhappy with the position of the riling party on certain key points relating on the electoral code.
Senegal map
As a result, delegates of ‘Benno Siggil Senegal’ matched out of the discussion room on Wednesday.

A routine practice, the discussions being moderated by the Ministry of Interior, which is responsible for elections in Senegal, brings together representatives of the opposition and those of the ruling party.

The present discussion focuses on “voter cards, the election campaign, the electoral register and the organization of polling stations.”

Key stumbling blocks in the discussion revolve around the duration of electoral campaign and the role of the media in announcing results.

Senegal’s governing party wants to cut down the campaign period from 21 to 15 days. They also insist on a controversial point that will prohibit journalists from reporting results until two hours after closing of polls. The opposition objects to both points.

They matched out of the discussion room in the face of ruling party insistence to go ahead with the plan.

Opposition spokesperson, Benoit Sambou, was quoted by the newspaper, Kotch, as saying "all proposals that have been made by the Autonomous National Electoral Commission (CENA) and the opposition on improving the Electoral Code were rejected by the government side. This is why they decided to suspend their participation in the discussions.

But Abdoulaye Babou, spokesman for President Wade’s Sopi coalition, told the same newspaper that ‘‘the decision has been taken and that there was no question of going back on it.”

Ousman Tanor Dieng, Secretary General of Senegal’s former ruling Socialist Party, spelled out the opposition coalition’s condition for any possible resumption of talks. He told music superstar, Yusou Ndure’s private radio station, RFM, that the president must assure them [opposition] that whatever conclusion is reached during the discussions will be included in the final document.

As a second condition, Dieng said that the opposition is also demanding the Ministry of the Interior which oversees elections in the country does not preside over the discussions on revising the electoral code as they do not consider it independent.

‘‘We want an independent person, an independent framework in which we will discuss this. An independent person will be responsible for reconciling the positions and move the consensus,” he said.

He added, “This is the minimum acceptable. If this is not done, let them make decisions and we will put up an action plan and call all Senegalese to organize ourselves and create the balance of power that will oblige the system to understand that the country does not belong them.’’

africanews