The Senegalese... a nation of about 14 million on the west coast of Africa bordering Mauretania to the north, Mali to the east, and a pair of Guineas to the south, one of them Bissau. It is 90 percent Mohammedan and has more than 80 political parties. Its primary purpose seems to be absorbing refugees...
have held another demonstration in the capital Dakar against octogenarian President Abdoulaye Wade's decision to stand for a third consecutive term in office.
As campaigning for the February 26 presidential election officially kicked off on Sunday, hundreds of protesters gathered in Dakar's Obelisk Square, the epicenter of the months-old protest movement against Wade.
"The goal is to be united for the start of the electoral campaign," said Cheikh Tidiane Dieye, an opposition leader with the June 23 Movement (M23) that called for the demonstration.
"This is not your typical campaign... We are going to ramp up the struggle for the withdrawal of Wade's candidacy," he added.
Eight of the 13 opposition candidates, who are united under the M23, joined Sunday evening's demonstration.
Tensions escalated in the West African nation on January 27 after the Constitutional Council, appointed by Wade and known as the "five wise men", gave the 85-year-old president the green light to run in the February election.
The legality of Wade's bid for a third term has been challenged. Wade, who was first elected in 2000, ending 40 years of rule by the Socialist Party, revised the constitution in 2001 to impose a two-term limit for the president. He argues that he is exempt because he was elected before the new law was drafted.
In the court's ruling, the judges stated that Wade's first term under the new constitution should be the one that started when he was first re-elected in 2007.