Senegal’s ruling party on track to win big parliamentary majority

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Senegal’s left-wing president is on track to win a big parliamentary majority that will empower him to enact reforms that could radically reshape the west African nation’s economy, including its relations with oil producers.

With most of the votes counted, three opposition leaders, including former president Macky Sall and his prime minister, have conceded defeat to Bassirou Diomaye Faye’s ruling Pastef party.

Faye’s government has faced teething problems since taking power following presidential elections in March, as millions of Senegalese grapple with a cost of living crisis. But a decisive victory in Sunday’s legislative poll would give Faye a mandate to deliver on his campaign pledges, including a crackdown on corruption and policies to boost the livelihoods of the majority of citizens.

Faye, aged 44 and Africa’s youngest elected leader, ordered a review into all oil and gas contracts in its nascent energy sector, including deals with companies such as Australia’s Woodside, UK energy major BP and Texas-based Kosmos.

Pastef has also promised to jettison policies favoured by previous governments including its close relationship with France, the former colonial power. The party is led by Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko, Faye’s political mentor, who was barred from running for the presidency.

“The result is a clear endorsement of Faye and Sonko’s agenda, and we expect them to move forward energetically when the incoming National Assembly starts to meet,” François Conradie, analyst at the Oxford Economics Africa consultancy, wrote in a note to clients.

Opposition politicians including Sall said the proposed reforms could endanger the west African nation’s hard-won reputation as a stable place to do business.

Faye dissolved the opposition-dominated parliament in September, saying he could not carry out his agenda without a majority in the 165-seat national assembly where Pastef controlled only 56 seats. Pastef would need at least 83 seats to cement its majority. Official results are expected later on Monday.

Local news outlet DakarActu has projected Pastef will win 79 per cent of the vote or 131 seats, a thumping majority that would help it enact constitutional changes that often require approval by 60 per cent of MPs. Faye won March’s election with 54 per cent of the vote.

More than 7mn Senegalese were eligible to cast a ballot in the election.

An audit conducted by Faye’s government has uncovered higher than expected public debt levels. It found that the country’s deficit exceeded 10 per cent of GDP at the end of last year, higher than the 5.5 per cent declared by Sall’s administration.

Public debt over the previous five years also averaged 76 per cent of GDP, not 66 per cent as previously reported. A three-year, $1.8bn IMF programme — agreed with the fund last year — was put on hold while the government puts corrective measures in place.

Sall said in a post on X that his coalition acknowledged Pastef’s victory. “The people have expressed themselves clearly,” Sall wrote.

Amadou Ba, who lost the presidential election to Faye this year and served as Sall’s last prime minister, said in a statement that Pastef’s impending victory reflected the “will of the people . . . this moment, beyond divisions, is a victory for our democracy and for Senegal. It reminds us that the essence of politics is to serve, listen and build together.”

Barthélémy Dias, a former Pastef ally now in opposition and mayor of the capital city Dakar, also congratulated the ruling party on its victory.

Conradie added that the victory was a signal of the “generational change” in Senegal that has removed former political heavyweights including Sall from power.