Senegal Civil Society Prepares Ahead of the 2012 Elections Using the BRIDGE Curriculum

Gorée Institute, as a BRIDGE and ACE hub for West Africa hosted a four-day modular BRIDGE training (March 24-27, 2011) on the island of Gorée for Senegal’s Coalition of Civil Society Organizations working in Elections (COSC). This training was funded by the United Kingdom Embassy in Senegal and facilitated by two BRIDGE facilitators:

-Mr Ibrahima Amadou Niang (BRIDGE accrediting facilitator);

-Mr Amadou Ciré Sall (BRIDGE semi-accredited facilitator and former Secretary General of the Electoral Commission of Senegal).

The training took place in a context of electoral disputes regarding the voter register and boundary delimitation. In fact, more that 1,000,000 voters (mainly the youth) cannot have access to their ID in order to register. The ruling coalition of parties seriously doubts the neutrality and professionalism of civil society, making it hard for its organizations to fully play their role in the electoral process. Therefore, the aim of the training was on one hand to build the capacities of the COSC and, in the other hand, to create a synergy among civil society organizations working on elections.

Four BRIDGE modules were used as part of the training (Introduction to electoral administration, strategic and financial planning, legal framework and pre-election activities). It appeared important for Senegal’s CSOs to create a network to further develop their capacities using the BRIDGE curriculum, conduct advocacy activities for electoral reform, prevent and manage electoral disputes and initiate national observation. The newly created network has been baptized Senegalese Network of Citizen Observers (SENECO) or Réseau Sénégalais des Observateurs Citoyens (RESOCIT).

Gorée Institute, as the ACE regional centre for West Africa has been designated to host the secretariat of the SENECO and to conceptualize and implement the project with the support of the network members.

At the end of the training, Mr Amadou Ciré Sall was awarded the BRIDGE certificate of full accreditation for having completed the field work component. He has been a great ambassador the project in Senegal since his 2009 TtF in Accra.

Resource person

Mr Doudou DIA

Participants

Macoumba COUME (Ministry of Interior)

Anta SOW (Enda Graf Sahel)

Babacar DIOUF (Army Coroner)

Fatou Ndiaye TURPIN (Réseau Siggil Jiguen)

Adjia Alimatou FALL (University Student)

Bineta DIOUF (University Student)

Valdiodio NDIAYE (ANAFA)

Ousmane NDIAYE (ONDH)

Ndèye Fatou SARR (RADDHO)

Abdoulaye SOUGOU (AJED)

Mamadou Lamine THIAM (RADI)

Daouda GUEYE (Journalist)

Pr Babacar GUEYE (FORUM CIVIL)

Raby Moussa DIALLO (University Student)

Oumar Diop (Société Civile)

Racine Kane (Enda Graf Sahel)

Emmanuel Dione (Enda Graf Sahel)