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Senegal holds contentious election as Abdoulaye Wade runs again | Senegal holds contentious election as Abdoulaye Wade runs again |
(about 6 hours later) | |
People in Senegal are voting in a presidential election, with 85-year-old incumbent Abdoulaye Wade seeking a controversial third term. | |
Mr Wade's re-election bid sparked protests in which several people died. | Mr Wade's re-election bid sparked protests in which several people died. |
Last month the country's highest court, the Constitutional Council, announced that he could stand for a third term despite a two-term limit. | Last month the country's highest court, the Constitutional Council, announced that he could stand for a third term despite a two-term limit. |
The court also barred world-renowned singer, Youssou N'Dour, from standing in the election. | The court also barred world-renowned singer, Youssou N'Dour, from standing in the election. |
He said that allowing Mr Wade to run amounted to a constitutional coup d'etat. | He said that allowing Mr Wade to run amounted to a constitutional coup d'etat. |
The constitutional court ruled that Mr Wade could stand on the grounds that his first term did not count as it had begun before the two-term limit was introduced in 2001. | |
International leaders appealed for calm ahead of the vote. | |
The African Union's envoy, former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, proposed that Mr Wade retire after two years if he is elected for another seven-year term, as expected. | |
But his plan was not accepted by either the president or the opposition. | |
Once a veteran opposition leader himself, Mr Wade was first elected in 2000 - ending 40 years of rule by the Socialist Party. | Once a veteran opposition leader himself, Mr Wade was first elected in 2000 - ending 40 years of rule by the Socialist Party. |
Senegal, a former French colony, is seen as a stable democracy with an unbroken series of elections since independence in 1960. | Senegal, a former French colony, is seen as a stable democracy with an unbroken series of elections since independence in 1960. |
It remains the only West African country where the army has never seized power. | It remains the only West African country where the army has never seized power. |