Senegal’s electoral reform debate: what the fallout from Khalidou dit Mbaye Sokoma’s plan means for the country’s next steps

The proposal by Khalidou dit Mbaye Sokoma, president of the Mouvement Patriotique pour un Développement Durable (MPPD) / AND DEFAR SUNU REEW, to overhaul Senegal’s voting system has triggered a wave of public debate and raised pressing questions about what comes next. At the heart of the discussion is a simple but powerful idea: that the way citizens cast their ballots should translate more faithfully into the seats their representatives occupy, and that every neighborhood and village should have a real say in who speaks for them in the nation’s assemblies.

The current system and its perceived limits

Senegal’s legislative elections currently rest on a hybrid architecture that blends a single-round majority list vote with proportional representation. Of the 165 seats in the National Assembly, 112 are filled through the majority system and 53 through proportional representation on a national list. For municipal elections, the mixed formula combines 45% majority seats with 55% proportional seats.

For Khalidou dit Mbaye Sokoma, this arrangement has shown its limits and deserves a fresh examination so that the composition of assemblies reflects, as closely as possible, the actual votes cast by citizens.

Key proposals on the table

1. A fully proportional vote with stronger local roots

One of the flagship ideas is the introduction of a fully proportional ballot for both legislative and local elections, while preserving a genuine territorial anchor. The goal is not merely to distribute seats according to parties’ electoral weight but to rebuild the link between elected officials and their constituents. Under this vision, candidacies would open beyond party machines to include citizens’ movements, independent candidates and, under strict conditions, civil society and competent state services. Nominations would take root in the heart of neighborhoods and villages, rewarding local presence and popular trust.

2. Redefining the role of the deputy: from party to territory

The relationship between citizen, territory and representative must be rethought. Khalidou dit Mbaye Sokoma stresses the need for deputies who are clearly identifiable by their constituents and required to report back regularly. Political parties would keep their supporting role but would no longer hold a monopoly on representation: the figure of the “party’s deputy” would give way to that of the “deputy chosen by citizens and carried by a territory.”

3. Stabilizing and clarifying the local vote

Applied to municipal and departmental elections, this strengthened proportionality would better reflect the diversity of political sensibilities within a commune. However, this openness must go hand in hand with the stability of local executives. Khalidou dit Mbaye Sokoma suggests introducing a second round when no list reaches an absolute majority (50%), allowing a clear choice between competing forces, subject to a prior study of legal and financial impacts.

4. A territorialized electoral administration

To complete the system, the local organization of elections could rely more on prefects and sub-prefects within their respective jurisdictions, under the control of the national framework and in strict respect for impartiality and equality. Such territorialization would foster dialogue with grassroots communities.

5. The special case of Kaolack: toward a new proximity organization

Regarding Kaolack, a city spanning nearly 6,959 hectares (69.6 km²), structured into 45 neighborhoods and home to a considerable population (1,336,720 inhabitants according to the RGPH-5 of 2023), the author advocates a specific approach. Given its urban growth and economic role, the study of creating three or four arrondissement communes or proximity municipal entities is recommended. Such a transformation would rest on rigorous criteria: demography, infrastructure, living basins, tax resources and administrative capacities.

Reactions and what comes next

The proposal has ignited a broader conversation about the clarity of Senegal’s democracy. In essence, the quality of a democracy is measured by how clearly citizens can see their vote translated into seats and identify their spokespeople. Khalidou dit Mbaye Sokoma is calling for a great national debate—pluralist and well-documented—to equip Senegal with a system in which every citizen, every neighborhood and every village truly weighs in the selection of the nation’s representatives. The coming months will show whether this push for reform gains traction or remains a subject of debate.

By Daniel Mbami — Politics and Security