The legislative elections of July 31, 2022, in Senegal, saw 1,727 candidates: 866 women and 901 men competing across just eight lists, a significant drop from the 47 lists in the 2017 elections. As a result of a sponsorship law introduced in 2018, political parties and coalitions must secure signatures from 0.5% to 0.8% of electors across at least seven regions. The financial burden of gathering these signatures, deploying teams, and running a campaign has driven up the cost of political participation, making it harder for parties and candidates to compete.
Once in office, elected officials face financial pressures, from maintaining political relationships to fulfilling social obligations. While parties and coalitions cover some expenses, many candidates supplement their campaign budgets with personal funds.
Using data collected between November 2023 and June 2024, and interviews with politicians, academics, and civil society actors, this Cost of Politics report illuminates Senegal’s opaque campaign financing system. The research emphasises the need for laws that regulate campaign spending and promote transparency. The study also focuses on the challenges women and young people face in participating in politics. These groups are disproportionately affected by financial barriers, which calls for reforms like a minimum youth quota on electoral lists and independent candidacy facilitation.
The study’s authors Samba Badji and Babacar Ndiaye highlight the critical need for financial transparency in Senegalese politics and propose measures that could enhance the political participation of women and young people. Further, the obscure nature of financing political campaigns needs to be tackled structurally. “The study recommends the effective application of the law on political parties to have more transparency in the use of money in politics. If the law currently requires political parties to file their financial statements each year, very few do so. There is the need to set up a body to control campaign accounts or, failing that, entrust this mission to the Court of Auditors.” noted Babacar Ndiaye.
This report sheds light on the lack of transparency in the financing of political activities in Senegal, particularly campaign funding. It offers recommendations for addressing this long-standing issue through reforms aimed at enhancing transparency. To learn more, click the link below to read the full report in French:
This study is supported by the WYDE Civic Engagement project, which aims to empower youth in democratic processes. With this work, led by WFD, the Cost of Politics reports unlock the unique processes of electoral participation and their impact on democracy in different countries.
Led by the Westminster Foundation for Democracy in partnership with the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy, with support from the European Partnership for Democracy.
