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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Party-voter linkage in Senegal: the rise and fall of Abdoulaye Wade and the Parti Démocratique Sénégalais
Author:Osei, AnjaISNI
Year:2013
Periodical:Journal of African Elections (ISSN 1609-4700)
Volume:12
Issue:1
Pages:84-108
Language:English
Geographic term:Senegal
Subjects:presidential elections
2012
Parti Démocratique Sénégalais
leadership
charisma
political participation
About person:Abdoulaye Wade (1926-)ISNI
Abstract:In March 2012 Abdoulaye Wade was defeated by Macky Sall in the hotly contested presidential elections in Senegal. This article uses the concept of party-voter linkage to examine how and why Wade and his party, the Parti Démocratique Sénégalais (PDS), lost touch with the electorate. It is argued that this failure must be viewed within the context of a complex process of social change that challenged traditional, often clientelistic, forms of linkage. As an alternative strategy, the PDS emphasised the personal charisma of its leader. Charismatic linkage, however, is naturally unstable, and the PDS began to lose public support. These findings suggest that political parties in Senegal cannot build their strategies on clientelism and charisma alone, they will have to begin to compete over issues and develop programmatic visions. If this challenge is not taken up, the long-term prospects for democratic representation and effective linkage are uncertain. Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum. [Journal abstract]
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