General elections were held in Senegal on 26 February 1978 to elect a President and National Assembly. Following a constitutional amendment in 1976,[1] the elections were open to more than one party for the first time since 1963. President Léopold Sédar Senghor of the Socialist Party (formerly the Senegalese Progressive Union) was challenged by Abdoulaye Wade of the Senegalese Democratic Party, but won with 82% of the vote.[2] Members of the National Assembly were elected by closed-list proportional representation. In the National Assembly election, the Socialist Party won 82 of the 100 seats.[1] Voter turnout was 63.5% in the presidential election and 62.6% in the parliamentary election.[3]

Results

President

CandidatePartyVotes%
Léopold Sédar SenghorSocialist Party807,51582.20
Abdoulaye WadeSenegalese Democratic Party174,81717.80
Total982,332100.00
Valid votes982,33299.37
Invalid/blank votes6,2340.63
Total votes988,566100.00
Registered voters/turnout1,566,25063.12
Source: Nohlen et al.'

National Assembly

PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Socialist Party790,79981.7482–18
Senegalese Democratic Party172,94817.8818New
African Independence Party3,7340.390New
Total967,481100.001000
Valid votes967,48199.25
Invalid/blank votes7,3440.75
Total votes974,825100.00
Registered voters/turnout1,556,25062.64
Source: Nohlen et al.

References

  1. 1 2 Senegal Inter-Parliamentary Union
  2. Elections in Senegal African Elections Database
  3. Dieter Nohlen, Michael Krennerich & Bernhard Thibaut (1999) Elections in Africa: A data handbook, p765–770 ISBN 0-19-829645-2

Further reading

  • Fatton, Robert (1987). The Making of a Liberal Democracy: Senegal's Passive Revolution, 1975–1985. Boulder: L. Rienner. ISBN 1-55587-010-4.
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