H.Res. 44 (eh) [Engrossed in House] ...

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106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 449

Congratulating the people of Senegal on the success of the multi-party 
                           electoral process.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 23, 2000

 Mr. Payne (for himself, Mr. Royce, Mr. Hastings of Florida, Mr. Meeks 
of New York, and Ms. Lee) submitted the following resolution; which was 
          referred to the Committee on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Congratulating the people of Senegal on the success of the multi-party 
                           electoral process.

Whereas the Republic of Senegal held free, fair, and transparent multi-party 
        elections on March 19, 2000;
Whereas Senegalese President Abdou Diouf conceded defeat to longtime rival 
        Abdoulaye Wade on Monday, March 20, 2000, after a hotly contested run-
        off election;
Whereas President Diouf's party, Parti Socialist, has ruled in the West African 
        country of Senegal since independence from France in 1960;
Whereas President-elect Abdoulaye Wade of the Parti Democratique Senegal (PDS) 
        was voted into office by a majority of the electorate and is Senegal's 
        third President;
Whereas the citizens of Dakar, Senegal, joyously welcomed the results of 
        Senegal's free and fair elections;
Whereas on February 27, 2000, during the first round of voting, President Diouf 
        amassed 41.3 percent of the vote to Wade's 31 percent;
Whereas President-elect Wade won 22 of the country's 31 districts and received 
        60 percent of the total 1,616,307 votes cast;
Whereas President-elect Wade's victory ends 40 years of uninterrupted rule by 
        Mr. Diouf's Socialist Party;
Whereas President Diouf telephoned Mr. Wade to congratulate him on winning the 
        elections;
Whereas President-elect Wade campaigned on the principles of ``probity, good 
        work, and involvement of the youth'' in the construction of Senegal;
Whereas Mr. Wade received the endorsement of five leading opposition candidates 
        after the second round of voting, including Mr. Moustapha Niasse, a 
        former foreign minister in President Diouf's party;
Whereas Mr. Niasse said the new government's first task would be to re-establish 
        the country's equilibrium and fight corruption;
Whereas the newly elected President Wade first ran for the presidency in 1978 
        against ex-President Leopold Senghor and ran in four subsequent polls;
Whereas this West African country of 10 million people has remained relatively 
        stable and prosperous;
Whereas Senegalese President Diouf took office 19 years ago and served as prime 
        minister for 10 years;
Whereas his predecessor and mentor, poet and politician Leopold Sedar Senghor, 
        surprised the country in 1980 by voluntarily stepping down and turning 
        over power to President Diouf, as prescribed by Senegal's constitution;
Whereas Senegal has a free press and judiciary;
Whereas Senegal is a recipient of the African Crisis Responsive Initiative;
Whereas Mr. Wade's history symbolizes a triumph for a country which has long 
        been considered a model of African democracy although ruled by one 
        party; and
Whereas this election marks a contribution to a paradigm shift of a new 
        political system on the West African coast: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) commends the people of the Republic of Senegal for 
        voting in this historic Presidential election;
            (2) congratulates President Diouf for stepping down before 
        the results were officially announced and upholding democracy 
        and good governance;
            (3) encourages the Administration to send a Presidential 
        delegation to the West African Country of Senegal to welcome 
        President Wade into office;
            (4) strongly urges the Economic Community Of West African 
        States (ECOWAS) to follow Senegal's lead and make efforts to 
        promote democratic reforms and prevent future conflicts;
            (5) calls upon the newly elected President to involve all 
        Senegalese to accept the election results and move the country 
        forward;
            (6) calls on all factions within the Secessionist Movement 
        of Democratic Forces in the Casamance (MFDC) rebel group in 
        Casamance to commit to a cessation of hostilities and create 
        stability for its people;
            (7) strongly urges newly elected President Wade to continue 
        the peace initiative started by former President Diouf with the 
        Secessionist Movement of Democratic Forces in the Casamance 
        (MFDC);
            (8) urges President-elect Wade to dialogue with the MFDC to 
        settle the Casamance conflict through political negotiations 
        and urges prompt initiation of peace talks; and
            (9) recognizes Senegal as one of the first African states 
        to adopt a multi-party system in the early 1980's and a nation 
        that has been a longtime beacon of democracy on a continent of 
        one-party states and military dictatorships.
                                 <all>

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