In an historic move, Senegal's lawmakers have approved legislation which reserves 15 parliamentary seats for nationals living abroad.

But the opposition who sees the plan as financially costly and which will increase the size of parliament from 150 to 165 is opposed to the plan, saying it will mount a court challenge to try and scrap the law.

"This measure is absurd," Amar Sarr, an MP from the main opposition party, PDS (Senegalese Democratic Party) whose French term is (Parti Démocratique Sénégalais) said.

Ceoafrica gathered that under the plan championed by the governing party, nationals living abroad would elect 15 lawmakers in the 2017 poll to represent them in parliament, because an estimated 160,000 Senegalese nationals live abroad, and governing party lawmakers say they deserve representation in parliament because of the financial help they give to families back home.