Themes & Issues by Country
Burkina Faso
Since 2001 the Electoral Law of Burkina Faso requires that single ballots be used for all types of elections—presidential, legislative and municipal. For each type of election all candidates or parties must appear on one single ballot located at the different polling stations. With the exception of the presidential election which uses photos of the candidates on the ballot, other elections use the logos of political parties on the ballots along with the lists of candidates to help voters distinguish between candidates and/or party lists…
Chad
One of the major innovations in Chad’s electoral system is the introduction of the single ballot. In the elections held in 1996, 1997, 2001, 2002, and 2006, a multiple ballot system was used. Under this system, each ballot displayed a different party logo alongside the names of different competing candidates and parties. But the deficiencies noted by political parties and electoral observers, especially the shortage of ballots for some candidates at certain polling stations, led political leaders to agree, on August 13, 2007, to use a single ballot for all elections…
Mali
The electoral law authorizes the use of single or multiple ballots, Article 80 of the law prescribes that the model and content of the ballot be determined by decision of the Minister in charge of Territorial Affairs…
Mauritania
The use of a single ballot has been one of the major changes in the electoral process during the period of transition (elections of 2006 and 2007). The use of a single ballot allows the voter to select a candidate or a list of candidates featured on one ballot. It is different from the multiple ballot system in which the voter had to select the ballot of one candidate or list of candidates and insert it into the ballot box. The single ballot was adopted for all elections and has replaced the multiple ballots system…
Niger
Issues related to the ballot are resolved by Articles 60 through 72 of the Electoral Code. Elections are conducted by a secret ballot. In 2011, Niger introduced the use of a single paper ballot during the first round of presidential elections. Other elections are conducted with multiple ballots, one of which is inserted into an envelope before being placed in a ballot box by the voter. The Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) has the jurisdiction to determine, by a written order, the specifications of the ballot. The State is responsible for the production and distribution of the single paper ballot…
Senegal
Senegal is characterized by a long and deep culture of elections; people started voting in Senegal well before the country’s independence from France, and in fact they have voted since 1848. In 1848, only white and mixed-race citizens of the cities of Gorée and St. Louis had the right to vote, a privilege which was extended in 1871 to two other municipalities, Dakar and Rufisque. Suffrage was finally granted to all Senegalese citizens in various stages following the end of the second World War, starting in 1946…
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