Senegalese Territorial Assembly election, 1957
Elections to the Territorial Assembly of Senegal (then part of French West Africa) were held on March 31, 1957. The elections had been called after the adoption of the Loi Cadre in 1956, which instituted a system of semiautonomous governments in the different colonies of French West Africa.[1]
Territorial assembly elections were also held in the other parts of French West Africa on the same day. Whilst most other territorial assembly elections were dominated by affiliates of the African Democratic Rally (RDA), the Senegalese elections saw a clash between the Senegalese parties affiliated to the African Convention (CA) and the African Socialist Movement (MSA) respectively.[2]
The CA-affiliated Senegalese Popular Bloc (BPS) had evolved out of the Senegalese Democratic Bloc just before the elections. In the run-up to the elections the BPS leader Léopold Sédar Senghor had a more socialist and nationalist discourse, attracting various trade unionists and leftwing intellectuals to join the BPS leadership.[1]
The elections resulted in a landslide victory of the BPS. Its main competitor, the MSA-affiliated Senegalese Party of Socialist Action (PSAS) had aliented the marabouts and enabled the BPS to win the rural vote (over which the marabouts held an important sway) by far.[3]
One MP from eastern Senegal was elected from one of the various regional lists that contested the polls.[3] No women were elected to the assembly.[4]
After the elections, BPS selected Ibrahima Seydou N'Daw from Kaolack as the chair of the Assembly.[3]
Results
| Parties | Votes | % | Seats | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senegalese Popular Bloc (Bloc populaire du Sénégal) | 449,844 | 78.04 | 47 | |
| Senegalese Party of Socialist Action (Parti sénégalais de l'action socialiste) | 66,458 | 11.52 | 12 | |
| Regional lists | 58,465 | 10.14 | 1 | |
| Others | 1,631 | 0.28 | 0 | |
| Total (turnout 54.62 %) | 60 | |||
| Source: Roche, Christian. Le Sénégal à la conquête de son indépendance: 1939-1960 : chronique de la vie politique et syndicale, de l'Empire français à l'indépendance. Hommes et sociétés. Paris: Karthala, 2001. p. 180 | ||||
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Boone, Catherine. Merchant Capital and the Roots of State Power in Senegal, 1930-1985. Cambridge studies in comparative politics. Cambridge [England]: Cambridge University Press, 1992. p. 85
- ↑ Chafer, Tony. The End of Empire in French West Africa: France's Successful Decolonization? Oxford: Berg, 2002. p. 210
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Roche, Christian. Le Sénégal à la conquête de son indépendance: 1939-1960 : chronique de la vie politique et syndicale, de l'Empire français à l'indépendance. Hommes et sociétés. Paris: Karthala, 2001. p. 180
- ↑ Fayé Kassé, Aminata. Women in Politics in Senegal
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