Administrative divisions: 10 regions (regions, singular - region); Dakar,
Diourbel, Fatick, Kaolack, Kolda, Louga, Saint-Louis, Tambacounda, Thies,
Ziguinchor note: there may be another region called Matam
Independence: 4 April 1960 (from France); complete independence was achieved upon dissolution of federation with Mali on 20 August 1960
National holiday: Independence Day, 4 April (1960)
Constitution: a new constitution was adopted 7 January 2001
Legal system: based on French civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts in Constitutional Court; the Council of State audits the government's accounting office; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Abdoulaye WADE (since 1 April 2000) head of Prime Minister Madior BOYE (since 3 March 2001) cabinet: with the president election results: Abdoulaye WADE elected president; percent of vote in the second round of voting - Abdoulaye WADE (PDS) 58.49%, Abdou DIOUF (PS) 41.51% elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term under new constitution; election last held 27 February and 19 March 2000 (next to be held 27 February 2005); prime minister appointed by the president
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (120 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - SOPI Coalition 89, AFP 11, PS 10, other 10 note: the former National Assembly, dissolved in the spring of 2001, had 140 seats
Judicial branch: Constitutional Court; Council of State; Court of Final Appeals or Cour de Cassation; Court of Appeals; note-the judicial system was reformed in 1992
Political parties and leaders: African Party for Democracy and Socialism
or And Jef (also known as PADS/AJ) [Landing SAVANE, secretary general];
African Party of Independence [Majhemout DIOP]; Alliance of Forces of
Progress or AFP [Moustapha NIASSE]; Democratic and Patriotic Convention or
CDP (also known as Garab-Gi) [Dr. Iba Der THIAM]; Democratic League-Labor
Party Movement or LD-MPT [Dr. Abdoulaye BATHILY]; Front for Socialism and
Democracy or FSD [Cheikh Abdoulaye DIEYE]; Gainde Centrist Bloc or BGC
[Jean-Paul DIAS]; Independence and Labor Party or PIT [Amath DANSOKHO];
National Democratic Rally or RND [Madier DIOUF]; Senegalese Democratic
Party or PDS [Abdoulaye WADE]; Socialist Party or PS [Ousmane Tanor
DIENG]; SOPI Coalition (a coalition led by the PDS) [Abdoulaye WADE];
Union for Democratic Renewal or URD [Djibo Leyti KA]; other small parties