[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 53 (Wednesday, May 3, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H2432-H2433]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    CONGRATULATING THE PEOPLE OF SENEGAL ON SUCCESS OF MULTI-PARTY 
                           ELECTORAL PROCESS

  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the 
resolution (H. Res. 449) congratulating the people of Senegal on the 
success of the multi-party electoral process.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                              H. Res. 449

       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.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Gilman) and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Payne) each 
will control 20 minutes.

[[Page H2433]]

  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman).


                             General Leave

  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
on this measure.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New York?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I support this resolution introduced by our friend and 
colleague, the gentleman from New Jersey, (Mr. Payne). In a region 
afflicted by military coups, authoritarian leaders and one-party 
states, Senegal has been be a model of a stable and pluralist society.
  As a matter of fact, later today I will introduce a resolution on 
Zimbabwe, along with the gentleman from New Jersey, a country whose 
leadership could learn much from Senegal's example.
  The people of Senegal voted for a change in leadership and the 
president stepped down. It sounds simple, and it is something that we 
in our 224-year-old republic have come to take for granted, but it is 
anything but the norm in many other parts of the world, and in this 
region in particular.
  Accordingly, I urge passage of House Resolution 449.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 449. Let me thank 
the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman), the gentleman from 
Connecticut (Mr. Gejdenson), and the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Royce) for helping to bring this bill to the floor.
  As it has been noted, Senegal held free and fair elections on May 19, 
and it was recognized as an election that all democratic governments 
should follow when there is a possible shift in regimes.
  Senegal held these fair and free elections. The recent multi-party 
elections were peaceful; however, there was an attempt in the southern 
part to disrupt the voting in that region. But the people decided that 
they wanted to have fair and free elections and persisted.
  I would like to extend my best wishes to President-elect Wade. I had 
the privilege of meeting in my New Jersey office with then-candidate 
Wade who indicated that he felt that he had a very good chance to win 
the election. He just wanted to alert me and our committee and our 
government that he was going to insist that the election be fair and 
free. We were very pleased that it did happen to be that way.
  We would like to recognize the composure of President Diouf in his 
honorable defeat as an example of the true spirit of democracy. It is 
apparent that President Diouf respects the democratic process, which 
sends a signal to the people of Sierra Leone to respect the democratic 
process as well as to embrace change. They can have change without 
having disruption and military action.
  President-elect Wade has made a noble gesture to bridge the divide 
between his party and the other multi-parties by endorsing five leading 
opposition candidates after the second round of voting, including Mr. 
Niasse, who is the former foreign minister of President Diouf's party. 
This is merely another example of Senegal's respectable democratic 
system, adding to the willing resignation of former President Leopold 
Senghor in 1980 when power was turned over to President Diouf, adhering 
to the Senegal constitution.
  Senegal should be internationally recognized for their action and 
should be treated with equal respect given to all functioning 
governments worldwide.
  On our trip to Africa with the President when he made a historic six-
country, 12-day trip, the final country that we visited was Senegal, 
visiting Goree Island, the place where slaves came. It is estimated 
close to 6 million may have perished, it is estimated, over the 600, 
700 years that slavery was legal. And so Senegal has a tremendous place 
in the heart of African Americans and Africans in general, and 
Americans in general.
  Mr. Speaker, once again, we are very pleased that this transition of 
government was done in a most noble way. With that, I urge my 
colleagues to support the resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I do not have further requests for time, and 
I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman) that the House suspend the rules 
and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 449.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the resolution was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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