Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Senegal
conventional short form: Senegal
local short form: Senegal
local long form: Republique du Senegal
Government type:
republic under multiparty democratic rule
Capital:
Dakar
Administrative divisions:
10 regions (regions, singular - region); Dakar, Diourbel, Fatick,
Kaolack, Kolda, Louga, Saint-Louis, Tambacounda, Thies, Ziguinchor
note: there may be another region called Matam
Independence:
4 April 1960 (from France); complete independence was achieved upon
dissolution of federation with Mali on 20 August 1960
National holiday:
Independence Day, 4 April (1960)
Constitution:
a new constitution was adopted 7 January 2001
Legal system:
based on French civil law system; judicial review of legislative
acts in Constitutional Court; the Council of State audits the
government's accounting office; has not accepted compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Abdoulaye WADE (since 1 April 2000)
head of government: Prime Minister Idrissa SECK (since 4 November
2002)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister in
consultation with the president
election results: Abdoulaye WADE elected president; percent of vote
in the second round of voting - Abdoulaye WADE (PDS) 58.49%, Abdou
DIOUF (PS) 41.51%
elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term
under new constitution; election last held 27 February and 19 March
2000 (next to be held 27 February 2005); prime minister appointed by
the president
Legislative branch:
unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (120 seats;
members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 29 April 2001 (next to be held NA 2006)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party -
SOPI Coalition 89, AFP 11, PS 10, other 10
note: the former National Assembly, dissolved in the spring of 2001,
had 140 seats
Judicial branch:
Constitutional Court; Council of State; Court of Final Appeals or
Cour de Cassation; Court of Appeals; note - the judicial system was
reformed in 1992
Political parties and leaders:
African Party for Democracy and Socialism or And Jef (also known as
PADS/AJ) [Landing SAVANE, secretary general]; African Party of
Independence [Majhemout DIOP]; Alliance of Forces of Progress or AFP
[Moustapha NIASSE]; Democratic and Patriotic Convention or CDP (also
known as Garab-Gi) [Dr. Iba Der THIAM]; Democratic League-Labor
Party Movement or LD-MPT [Dr. Abdoulaye BATHILY]; Front for
Socialism and Democracy or FSD [Cheikh Abdoulaye DIEYE]; Gainde
Centrist Bloc or BGC [Jean-Paul DIAS]; Independence and Labor Party
or PIT [Amath DANSOKHO]; National Democratic Rally or RND [Madier
DIOUF]; Senegalese Democratic Party or PDS [Abdoulaye WADE];
Socialist Party or PS [Ousmane Tanor DIENG]; SOPI Coalition (a
coalition led by the PDS) [Abdoulaye WADE]; Union for Democratic
Renewal or URD [Djibo Leyti KA]; other small parties
Political pressure groups and leaders:
labor; Muslim brotherhoods; students; teachers
International organization participation:
ACCT, ACP, AfDB, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-15, G-77, IAEA, IBRD,
ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF,
IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, MIPONUH, MONUC, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW,
PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMOVIC, UPU, WADB
(regional), WAEMU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Amadou Lamine BA
FAX: [1] (202) 332-6315
consulate(s) general: New York
telephone: [1] (202) 234-0540
chancery: 2112 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Harriet L. ELAM-THOMAS
embassy: Avenue Jean XXIII at the corner of Rue Kleber, Dakar
mailing address: B. P. 49, Dakar
telephone: [221] 823-4296
FAX: [221] 822-2991
Flag description:
three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), yellow, and red
with a small green five-pointed star centered in the yellow band;
uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia