Dakar (dpa) – Police in Senegal on Sunday fired tear gas at the polling station in the capital Dakar where President Abdoulaye Wade was registered to cast a vote in a runoff election pitting him against his former prime minister Macky Sall. The incident at the station a few meters from Wade's home in the southwest of Dakar occurred after a group of vocal supporters of the president turned rowdy. Wade had to delay his visit to the polling station. After casting his vote, Wade's convoy drove through the streets of his neighborhood and he rose up through the sunroof of his vehicle, pumping his fists in the air and smiling. Hundreds of young men ran alongside, chanting in support of Wade and their Muslim spiritual leader Bethio Thioune – an ally of the president. “After being booed out of the polling station in the first round, this time Wade was met by supporters,” voter Jean-Phillipe Ndiaye told dpa. The poll follows a tense first round held in February, in which 85-year-old Wade, who has been in power for 12 years, beat 50-year-old Sall by about eight per cent. Wade is standing for a third term despite a two-term constitutional limit. The first round was overshadowed by protests to demand that Wade pull out of the race. Voters in Senegal, home to 13 million people, cast their votes by collecting leaflets bearing the photographs of the two candidates. The favored candidate is placed in an envelope, which goes inside the ballot box, while the other is discarded. In the working-class neighborhood of Medina, where international music superstar Youssou N'Dour grew up, men gathered around teapots in the shade, pouring cups of steaming attaya – strong, sweet, Senegalese tea. N'Dour has promised to perform a free concert in the area if Sall wins the race. “Macky's going to win,” said 23-year-old Adama Diop. From his wallet he produced his Wade leaflet; proof that he voted for Sall. “This is my ticket for Youssou N'dour's concert,” he said. Diop's friend Bamba Dioybate said he had voted for Wade. “I guess I won't be going to the concert,” he said, adding that his political leanings had not affected his friendship with Diop. “Whoever wins, we'll still sit here and drink tea together,” he said. Analysts say 50-year-old Sall has a good chance. He campaigned on a platform of creating more jobs in rural areas and bringing down rising food prices. This struck a chord with Senegal's unemployed and disillusioned youths in a country where the average age is 19. “The Senegalese people have made it clear that they have had enough of the current leadership, that they want to turn the page,” Sall told dpa in an interview on the eve of Sunday's poll. “If Wade does not win, I hope he will have the wisdom to step down gracefully,” he said. Still, many young people support Wade. “To be fair, Wade has done a lot to develop Dakar,” said 22-year-old law student Ibrahima Yade. “But the most important things for me, like access to electricity and cheap food, are a problem.” Painter-decorator Benjamin Gomes agreed. “Wade woke up the Senegalese people when he came to power championing democracy,” he said. “The irony is that before we were sleeping and now we all see the truth. He taught people what democracy is, and now he is teaching us what democracy is not.” Wade, who was elected in 2000 on a platform of democracy and human rights, maintains that his candidacy is fair, that his age should not be an issue, and that he has more work to do for Senegal. Sunday's poll is being monitored by about 300 international observers from the EU, African Union and ECOWAS regional body of states. Provisional results are expected within two days. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/sSkDH Tags: NDour, Police, Senegal, Tear-gas, Violence Section: Latest News, West Africa
