SENEGAL Progressive, established democracy with close ties the EU and increasing prosperity. Local Coordinator: Mamadou Ibrahima Fall, GRECUP (Groupe de reflexion pour une culture de la paix, des droits humains et de la citoyennete internationale) Local Partner Organization: INEADE, Dakar (Institut national d'etudes et d'actions pour le développement de l'ducation)

ACTIVITIES SUMMARY:

TEST 1: First time satellite voting in public. Cheikh Anta Diop University, Dakar.

To prove the feasibility of the satellite voting system, we took the machine on a first public test run at the largest University in Senegal. The test areas included the Faculty of Law and Political Sciences, the Department of Science and Technology and the main Library of the sprawling campus with its 15´000 students. Spontaneous voting at all locations occurred instantly. Upon setting the machine up and initializing the voting program, a group of people had already expressed interest in participating. Once the purpose of a World Vote was explained, the enthusiasm grew. People received minimal instructions and voted on three successive referendum questions, each with a YES (Green Button) and NO (Red Button) answer. Results were sent directly from the machine and we could check this by visiting the University Computer Lab and viewing the tabulated voting results online. After the public test areas, we moved to an auditorium where the project was introduced to several hundred students at the end of a class. A large majority volunteered to vote and we did so until the battery of the machine was completely drained. Many people still wanted to vote, so there is clearly more demand than supply!

TEST 2: Can we hold a world vote in village with no electricity and no connectivity? Can we vote in a localized language? Can illiterate people vote? Alajipate Sou / Coeur Masar

Just a few hours outside of Dakar the grid stops. Paved roads turn into sand trails, telephone poles and overhead wires disappear entirely. After our car got stuck several times in the sand, we got a ride from a four-wheel-drive bush-taxi and continued to our destination: a small village with no connectivity. We visited the Chief and explained the purpose of the field test and he kindly offered us his house as a base. The people of the village were asked to participate and immediately took a great interest in the project. Along with the satellite voting machine, we used a small digital recorder into which Mamadou spoke the referendum questions and voting instructions in Wolof. The people who didn’t speak French and also illiterate participants simply listened to the recordings and then proceeded to vote without a single problem. Many people expressed their strong support for the fact that the referendum questions deal with Health, Access and Safety. I was told by several participants, “These are our daily needs!” The lack of infrastructure also means unclean water and a lack of medical facilities. The urgency to improve the situation becomes very clear here. At the end of the test session, we asked the Chief of the village to hit the send button, which he happily did.

TEST 3: Can icons of popular culture help promote the World Vote?

Alajiman of DAARA J, Senegal’s biggest hip-hop sensation, met us at the INEADE headquarters to discuss the project. We agreed that the message of a World Vote coincided with the group’s conscious lyrics and we received backstage passes to the Senegalese Hip-Hop Award Show for the following night. At the Rufisque Football Stadium, we were able to see first-hand what a powerful effect the headlining artists had over their thousands of fans. At a third meeting at DAARA J´s recording studio, including all three members Aladjiman, Faada Freddy and Ndongo D, we established a working relationship with the clear objective of spreading the idea of global democracy through the mass media.


TEST 4: Can national governments get involved in the World Vote?

Mamadou Ibrahima Fall reports: “We have introduced the project to Mme Fatim Gueye, Ambassador and Secretary General of the National Commission for the Francophonie as well as Maitre Abdoulaye Wade, President of the Republic of Senegal. We have touched upon the topics of how to build lasting democratic institutions in Africa and the role of peace education in this process. Follow-up topics include: the possibility of an international meeting in Dakar to promote the World Vote.”

SENEGAL SUMMARY:

Possibility of holding a World Vote in Senegal: HIGH.