Senegal election run-off imminent: EU observers
AFP PHOTO/ ISSOUF SANOGO
Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade speaks on February 27, 2012 during a public declaration at the presidential palace in Dakar. Senegal's President Abdoulaye Wade said a first round win was still possible, with half the votes tallied, but accepted the possibility he may have to head to a run-off in his bid for a third term.
DAKAR, Tuesday
A European Union observer mission said on Tuesday that Senegal was on course for an election run-off after an inconclusive first round, but said the slow release of results could fuel tension and suspicion.
“There will very likely be a second round. Any other outcome seems statistically impossible after what we know and hear,” said observer mission chief Thijs Berman.
He condemned a ban on protests before the polls, which led to violent clashes between police and opposition supporters expressing anger over 85-year-old Abdoulaye Wade’s candidacy for a third term in office.
Berman also said there was lack of transparency in the process for retrieving voters’ cards.
At the same time, the United Nations Secretary General’s special envoy to West Africa, Said Djinnit, praised voters in Senegal for their “political maturity” and encouraged them to remain steadfast.
He challenged the politicians as well as civil society organisations in the country to “continue to demonstrate the same maturity until the end of the electoral process”.
“Continue upholding the struggle for democracy in your country and do not relent in strengthening the achievements you have made,” the diplomat said in a statement on Tuesday.
The statement comes after more than half of the ballots from Sunday’s elections were counted, with indications there could be a second round between Wade and Macky Sall.
