Senegal opposition braces for second-round polls

Senegal looked headed for a second round of voting in unofficial results on Monday from a fraught election in which President Abdoulaye Wade was seeking a disputed third term.

The 85-year-old leader's former protege and presidential rival Macky Sall declared a second round inevitable in the west African nation, whose reputation as a haven of stability is on the cards after a
campaign tarnished by pre-poll riots.

If no candidate wins a majority of 50 percent plus one vote, the election will go to a second round of voting which could be held between March 18 and April 1.

Newspapers
While the incumbent's camp warned it was too early to judge the outcome, opposition newspapers were less restrained.

"Wade's world collapses, Macky snatches a second round," reported L'Observateur, echoing headlines across the front pages of the daily newspapers.

The incumbent is seeking a third term in office after circumventing a two-term limit he introduced into the constitution. He says changes extending term lengths from five to seven years made in 2008 allow him a fresh mandate.

The country's highest court upheld his argument which sparked a month of riots in one of Africa's most stable nations, leaving six dead and prompting international concern.

Cacophony
The defiant leader was greeted by a cacophony of boos after voting on Sunday, angrily pushing one of his bodyguards out of the way as he beat a hasty retreat without speaking to the media.

Unofficial results show he was trounced in the small polling station by another ex-prime minister, Moustapha Niasse, with Sall placing third.

Niasse's campaign member Abdou Latif Coulibaly evoked an anti-Wade union in an eventual second round.

"The principal will be to vote for the best-placed opposition candidate," he told AFP.

Strong showing
Sall, 50, who has a degree in engineering, is making a strong showing in unofficial results trickling in from polling stations.

"The figures in our possession, published in the media, and the trends from polling stations show that a second round is inevitable," he said in a statement published on his website.

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"I warn the sorcerer's apprentices against any attempt to confiscate the people's will. The massive rejection of the outgoing president has been shown in the results."
Sall is taking part in elections for the first time.

The mayor of the western city of Fatick fell out of favour with his former mentor Wade in 2008 after serving in several ministerial portfolios and as prime minister.

Second round?
However El Hadj Amadou Sall of the incumbent's campaign team warned there were "no heavy trends" and nothing indicated that there would be a second round of voting.

While unofficial results were being released on public television and websites, the electoral commission will start announcing results on Tuesday, and has until Friday to give a final provision result.

During a tumultuous election campaign in which angry youths clashed with police on a near-daily basis in the seaside capital, the incumbent swept the country urging voters to elect him in the first round.

source:AFP