Observatoire Parlementaire, O.N.G.   

                                                                                     Parliamentary Distinctions

 

 Parliamentarian of the year: The Life & Works of Parliamentarians

 

Who will be chosen as the most deserving Parliamentarian of the year 2013-2014?

   

Prizes, Awards and Distinctions are granted on the basis of tangible results provided by the Honorable Congressmen & Parliamentarians of Senegal and the ECOWAS in a local, national or sub-regional levels. Eligibles to the distinctions are primarily those Honourable Members of Parliament who have brought forward: 

 

• Relevant Project Law Proposals, 

• Mastery of Agenda & Projects submitted for examination, 

• Active Participation in Sessions of Parliament, 

• Collective Appreciation of electors / voters, 

• Great Communication Skills, 

• Courtesy & Decent Gestures,

• Other Objective & Subjective Evaluation Instruments...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Elect Parliamentarians who have dedicated the most effort to advance their communities in accordance with the "Objectives of the Millennium Challenge Account" and, the ambitions to implement some parts of the "Senegal Emerging Plan", among other barometers of evaluation established by the Parliamentary Observatory:

 

. The Oath to "well and faithfully fulfill the office of Parliament" in accordance with the Constitution,

· The Duty to provide "Draft Laws" to improve conditions in their constituencies,

· Responsibility to support their communities to achieve the "Millennium Challenge Account"

· The Initiative to bring the operating concept of the "Phase III of Decentralization" in their localities,

· An Ambition to support their communities to contribute to the realization of the "Senegal Emerging Plan."

. A Compliance with the new rules and regulations set forth by OHADA (Organisation for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa)

 

A Special Jury choosen among Political Observers, Sociologists, Business Entrepreneurs, Former Parliament Members, Civil Society Personalities, and the average "Lambda Citizens" will select the elected officials who have fullfilled the criteria to be distinguished as "The Parliamentarian of the Year "2013-2014". 

 

 A Special Prize will be dedicated to The Parliamentarian of the Year during the celebration of the Annuel Banquet in honour of the Honorable Congressmen & Parliamentarians of Senegal and the ECOWAS: 

• Golden Ribbon Award,

• Photo Exhibition,

• Video Projection,

• Testimonies

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Parity in the Parliamentary Landscape

 

The last parliamentary elections have profoundly altered the make up of the National Assembly of Senegal.

Comprising of 65 elected among 150 Parliamentarians, or 43.5% * of the hemicycle, women will now have an effective presence in the political and parliamentary landscape of Senegal.

 

According to Prof. Fatou Sow Sarr, specialist of women's rights, the new Parliamentary Configuration is "a great leap forward done by Senegal, who now ranks third in Africa after Rwanda and Seychelles, and sixth in the world for female representation in the National Assembly. "

 

This exemplary representation of women in the Legislature is the result of the "Parity Act". In the previous Parliament, only 33 women MPs were represented in the hemicycle.

 

Prof. Fatou Sow Sarr believes that, since in Senegal "nearly 90% of women continue to fetch firewood, more than half of them still bring water from the well," the representation of women should influence the decisions of the Senegalese Parliament.

 

According to Pr. Fatou Sarr Sow, the "Nationality Code" should be among the first targets chosen by the newly elected membres of Parliament because: "there is indeed a lot of children whose father is Gambian, Mali, etc., with Senegalese mothers, but can not have the Senegalese nationality, because only the father has the right to give it. "According to her, women MPs will fight decisively in order to give the Senegalese Nationality to their children.

 

Once those elected women installed on their new stations in the Legislative Institution, bills relating to the improvement of the material conditions of existence for Senegalese women will be debated and possibly enacted at the National Assembly.

 

* Statistics & excerpts published by Prof. Fatou Sow Sarr, in her book: "The first heirs of the parity law." Laboratory of Gender, the Fundamental Institute of Black Africa (IFAN), University Cheikh Anta Diop of Dakar (UCAD).