Senegal court clears Wade, 13 others, rejects Youssou N'dour
Senegal’s Constitutional Council has validated the third term candidacy of incumbent President Abdoulaye Wade and cleared 13 other candidates to contest next month’s elections, but disqualified Senegalese international music star, Youssou N’dour.
Two women are among the 14 candidates cleared to contest the February 26 presidential polls.
The court’s ruling was issued in the capital, Dakar Friday evening, after an all day street protest by the M-23 Movement, a coalition of some opposition parties and civil society groups.
For months, they have been challenging Wade’s right to contest a third term of office, claiming it’s a violation of the country’s current constitution. But the 85-year-old leader has maintained that this is his first term under the new constitution.
WADR’s Reporters in Dakar say news of the court’s ruling has triggered a wave of violent protest mainly by Senegalese youths, who Friday evening were burning tyres and throwing stones.
At the same time, credible sources say the Senegalese leader’s lawyers have introduced appeals to ject the candidacies of two former Prime Ministers—Idrissa Seck and Macky Sall as well as an ex-Foreign Minister, Cheikh Tidiane Gadio, all of whom had served under Wade.
Click audio below to listen to WADR's on-the-spot report in Dakar
