Additional information about gender quotas

On June 2010, Senegal adopted amendments to the election law introducing the requirement for gender parity in candidate lists for proportional and majority contests in legislative, regional, municipal and rural elections. Candidate lists, as well as alternative lists, are thus required to present an equal number of male and female candidates for national, municipal and local elections. Amendments also introduced the provision for a mandatory disqualification of those lists that do not comply with the parity principle. Electoral contestants will be given three days to revise their lists to comply with the requirement of gender parity. The 2012 legislative elections were the first to be held after the adoption of the quota provisions.

In accordance with constitutional amendments adopted in March 2016, the statutory number of members of the National Assembly increased from 150 to 165, to include 15 seats for the Senegalese diaspora. (IPU)