Yesterday, Senegal held its first ever Senate elections for 45 of the 60 seats in the new house of parliament, news agencies reported. The poll was boycotted by the majority of the opposition. Diouf’s ruling Socialist Party (PS) has the support of 12,000 of the 13,000 eligible voters, which include MP’s, local, municipal and regional councillors, and is widely expected to win almost all the senate seats. Of the remaining 15 seats, 12 senators will be nominated by the president and Senegalese living abroad vote for three. The creation of the senate is part of efforts to make the government more representative, Reuters reported. Results are expected to start coming in tomorrow.
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