Senegal Election Free and Fair...

Senegal election 'free and fair'

The 80-year-old incumbent is seeking a second term in office
Senegal's presidential election was free and fair, observers from regional body the Economic Community Of West African States (Ecowas) have said.

Supporters of the incumbent, Abdoulaye Wade, have been celebrating, claiming he has won Sunday's poll.

But none of his 14 opponents have conceded and predict a run-off.

A BBC correspondent says it is perhaps a sign of Senegal's stability that amid contrasting claims there has been no obvious increase in tension.

Senegal's independent electoral commission said partial official results might not be available until Wednesday.

President Wade needs to gain more than 50% of the vote to avoid a second round.

Clear lead

The BBC's Will Ross in the capital, Dakar, says unofficial results being telephoned in to radio stations from across the country give Mr Wade a clear lead.

Election workers in Senegal count votes by the light of candles
Wade's opponents may team up against him if there is a run-off

But he says it is too early to know whether he has won outright in a first vote.

The Ecowas statement, while giving the vote the thumbs up, noted that there had been some problems with the process.

However, it also congratulated the Senegalese for their conduct during Sunday's voting.

Voter turnout was high and long queues left some polling stations open late.

Prime Minister Macky Sall - who is Mr Wade's campaign manager - said partial results gave the president 57% of the votes counted so far

"I invite all the other candidates to accept the voters' verdict," he said, AFP news agency reports.

Our correspondent says a run-off would present an opportunity for Mr Wade's opponents to team up against him.

That is exactly how the 80-year-old president came to power seven years ago in one of Africa's rare peaceful transitions from one president to a rival.

Battle

Mr Wade, who is seeking a second term, has come under pressure in recent months over high rural unemployment.

Since his election he has fallen out with several of his allies, some of whom were among the opponents challenging him on the ballot papers.

Two of them were Moustapha Niasse and the youthful Idrissa Seck, who have both served as prime minister in Mr Wade's administration.

Ousmane Tanor Dieng, who served under the previous president, Abdou Diouf, was also seen as a strong contender.

Senegal, a predominately Muslim nation, is seen as a rare model of stable democracy in Africa.

It is the only West African nation not to have experienced a coup since independence, and polls in 2000 passed off peacefully.

Some five million people were eligible to vote, which is almost double the figure in the last election.

Senegalese in presidential poll


Large queues have been forming outside polling stations
Voters are going to the polls in a presidential election in Senegal, the West African nation held up as one of the continent's few stable democracies.

Incumbent Abdoulaye Wade is up against 14 rivals as he seeks a second term.

Mr Wade narrowly won elections in 2000, but has come under pressure in recent months over high rural unemployment.

Other leading contenders are Moustapha Niasse and the youthful Idrissa Seck, who have both served as prime minister in Mr Wade's administration.


All the time they [the candidates] just talk politics, politics, politics. I don't think the politicians can end our problems - I don't believe in them
Yayi Bayam Diouf, voter

Ousmane Tanor Dieng, who served under the previous president, Abdou Diouf, is also seen as a strong contender.

The BBC's Will Ross in Dakar says that although Mr Wade is seen by many as the favourite, there are several unknown factors.

New system

Senegal, a predominately Muslim nation, is seen as a rare model of stable democracy in Africa. It is the only West African nation not to have experienced a coup since independence, and polls in 2000 passed off peacefully.

This time five million people will be eligible to vote, using a new electronic voting system which reads thumbprints.

The system should make the processing of results faster and easier, but our correspondent says there has been some concern over the accuracy of this new and as yet untested voting method.

Voting began at 0800GMT at more than 11,000 polling stations.

Our correspondent says lengthy queues have been forming at polling stations across the country, many of which are schools.

Dakar voices

Some voters say they again will be backing Mr Wade, pointing that he has started a number of large-scale projects to transform the country.

"Before Wade we were under a socialist regime for 40 years," says Mamadou Fall, a tailor in Dakar.

President Abdoulaye Wade at a rally in Dakar on 23 February
President Abdoulaye Wade is seeking a second term in office
"But in the last seven years he has done a lot of building roads and bridges. We even have tunnels in Senegal," he added.

Others say the construction projects are doing nothing to address the real needs of the poor Senegalese.

"Unfortunately President Wade started changing the rules of the game and didn't want a level playing field," says Jacques Habib Sy, who runs the organisation Aid Transparency.

"He appointed four prime ministers in six years and got rid of all the people who supported him in 2000 and that sent out a very wrong signal," he said.

Clashes

The number of voters has almost doubled since the last election and there have been no independent opinion polls.

And with so many candidates, it may be extremely hard for any of them to get the 50% of votes needed to win outright in a first round, our correspondent says.

Campaigning has been for the most part peaceful.

But earlier this week, clashes in the capital, Dakar, between rival supporters of Mr Wade and Mr Seck left five people seriously injured.

Clash before election...

Clashes ahead of Senegal election
By Will Ross
BBC News, Dakar

Cars vandalised in Senegal attacks
Clashes have heightened tension in the lead-up to the polls
Rival supporters have clashed in the Senegalese capital, Dakar, ahead of Sunday's presidential elections.

Fights between supporters of President Abdoulaye Wade and those of his former prime minister-turned-rival, Idrissa Seck, left five people seriously hurt.

Mr Wade is facing a strong challenge after seven years in office and recent violence has heightened tension.

Senegal is seen as a rare model of democracy in Africa and it is a stable country in a troubled region.

According to eyewitnesses, a convoy of Mr Seck's campaign team was attacked as it passed near the home of an influential religious leader, or marabout.

Senegal's Muslim brotherhoods play a significant role in the country's political arena.

Although they say they were provoked, the young followers of one marabout, who is backing President Wade's re-election, threw rocks and used knives and batons against the passing convoy.

Several vehicles were wrecked in the process.

Compared to pre-election violence in other African countries, the clashes in Senegal were on a small scale. But here such violence is rare.

So waking up to see newspapers showing photos of the victims with serious head injuries has come as a shock to many Senegalese.

Wide field

There are 15 candidates in Sunday's election. Despite being 80 years old, President Wade is the favourite and enjoys the benefits of incumbency.

But acquiring more than 50% of the votes will be hard because of the sheer number of candidates.

So a second round is a strong possibility and President Wade knows all too well the danger that could pose.

After several failed attempts at the presidency, he defeated Abdou Diouf in the last election in 2000, when several candidates teamed up with him for the second round of voting.

That was one of the extremely rare examples in Africa of a peaceful transfer of power from one leader to a rival.

With high unemployment and increased living costs, President Wade is under pressure.

His supporters point to large scale infrastructure projects.

But his detractors say not enough has been done in the area of job creation which is seen as the only way of stemming immigration.

As one of the major set-off points for the thousands of Africans trying to make it illegally by sea to Europe, immigration is a key issue in Senegal's election campaign.

Senegal's Powerful Brotherhoods

Senegal's powerful brotherhoods
By Elizabeth Blunt
BBC News, Senegal

Cheikh Amadou Bamba
Cheikh Amadou Bamba's portrait is displayed everywhere

Senegal's most powerful men are not politicians, but the leaders of the country's Islamic Sufi brotherhoods, to which a very large proportion of Senegalese belong, and whose influence pervades every aspect of Senegalese life.

Everywhere you go in Senegal, you see the same picture: An old black and white photograph of a figure dressed in white, a long white scarf wrapped around his head.

It's the only existing picture of a man called Cheikh Amadou Bamba, the founder of the Mourides, Senegal's richest and most powerful Islamic brotherhood.

You don't have to be in Dakar for long to realise that if everyone who displays his picture is a member, this is a very large organisation indeed.

Lifelong relationship

Its ties bind every Mouride to every other, but one of the strongest ties of all is the one which binds a Mouride to his spiritual guide and teacher, his Marabout or Cheikh.


Massamba Lo

The Cheikh bowled me over, seduced me if you like, and I became his disciple.
Massamba Lo, a personnel consultant in everyday life, is a devout Mouride and a descendant of the movement's founder.

He remembers the day he met his Cheikh as vividly as others remember falling in love.

"It was in Thies," he says. "On a Monday I think. We met, we become friends. He asked after me, said, "Massamba, you must come, you must take tea, eat with us.

"I was looking for just this kind of man. He bowled me over, seduced me if you like, and I became his disciple."

The relationship, he says, is for life, and is more important and intense than any relationship with a woman.

The Cheikh can bring spiritual comfort and open a path to God. But he can also, according to Massamba Lo, help with more practical affairs.

If you are thinking of starting a business, for instance, he can give the enterprise his blessing.

But these Cheikhs are very well connected. He can also put you in touch fellow Mourides who might be able to offer a helping hand.

For people like Massamba Lo, Mouridism supplies spiritual nourishment, business networking opportunities, a social security system and a fulfilling social life - all at the same time.

Celebration

Disciples of the same Cheikh meet for special days of celebration, with prayer and devotional music, and the collection of gifts for distribution to the poor.

Mouridism, says Massamba Lo, isn't simply a large part of his life - it is his life itself, the way he orders his existence.


Their main job is to educate people in the religion, but they have also a social responsibility.

Hadim Mbacke
The Cheikhs are in a position of power, but also of responsibility.

"Their main job is to educate people in the religion, but they have also a social responsibility because they have to make them work," Hadim Mbacke, himself a renowned teacher and scholar, told me.

"They have to marry people who need to be married, they have to reconcile people, they have to help people to get good health care and many other things."

All this takes resources, but the Mourides are rich. Hard work is part of their creed. Their founder, Cheikh Amadou Bamba, placed great emphasis on the Prophet Mohammed's saying: "Work as if you were going to live forever, and pray as if you were going to die tomorrow."

And they work, not just for themselves but for the brotherhood. Some disciples contribute their labour on their Cheikhs' farms; others bring cash.

"You have rich disciples and poor disciples, says Hadim Mbacke. "You have people who work in the government - the president, the ministers - all these people bring you a lot of money.

"Some people bring you perhaps $10, others even $1m sometimes, so he takes from the rich and gives to the poor."

For members of the brotherhood, Mouridism is all pervasive; for Senegal it's a whole parallel structure, hidden beneath the surface of national life.

Email from Chief Alioune In Dioutki

it truly is a connected world...

Dear Slager

Igreat you and all yours family. I'm looking forwar to see you earlier. I wsh you and your family to have goog healf and peace. All my family is talking about you , and they asking me your next come back in Senegal.

The village entire are greeting you . My mother is very happy about your last visit in our village.

See you next time. Walla !!!

Alioune NDIAYE, the chief village of Doutki

Sincerely yours

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