SenegalSenegal's opposition parties have united to boot out incumbent President Abdoulaye Wade out of power by calling on the Senegalese people to vote for his closest rival Macky Sall in a run-off vote this month. According to provisional results announced by National Election Commission President Wade came in first with 34.85 percent of Sunday's vote while Sall trailed with 26.57 percent. They will face off in a second round most likely to be held on March 18.Senegalese music icon Youssou Ndour threw his weight behind Sall in his bid to thwart the sit-tight leader.
"The change is already there, now it is just a matter of putting it into action," Ndour told journalists in brief comments after a brief meeting with Mr. Sall.The Grammy award winning star's spokesman told journalists that "Macky Sall has already agreed to" several demands that are in line with the guidelines set out by the national consultative committee on good governance led by Amadou Matarr Mbowe former secretary of UNESCO. This according to him; is meant to improve the livelihood of the Senegalese people. "Youssou Ndour will support Macky Sall in the second round of the election," said the spokesman, Aliou Ndiaye. Senegal's most famous export, Ndour announced in January that he planned to run in the presidential race, only for the country's highest court to refuse his candidacy on the grounds that he had not received enough nominations.Meanwhile; the M23 has called a gathering on Saturday afternoon at Dakar's Obelisk Square in memory of the six people killed in a month of deadly riots leading up to the election.The June 23 Movement (M23) urged its members, including failed presidential candidates, to "prove their patriotism and put aside their personal problems for the superior interest of Senegal" and support Sall."We must all mobilise together, to deliver the killer blow and put an end to this regime," said M23 co-ordinator Alioune Tine.He said Sall, 50, who dealt a humiliating blow to the incumbent by forcing him into a run-off after Sunday's elections, was the only possibility for preventing Wade, 85, from serving a fresh mandate into his 90s.The influential rapper-led movement "Fed Up" also signed up to the pro-Sall campaign. "In the (wrestling) arena, when you are fighting an opponent you need to finish him off. You must not give him time to recover," said one of its leaders, the rapper "Thiat".The movement urged its members to "vote massively for Macky Sall" and thwart Wade's re-election bid.Wade, who has spent 12 years in power, in January, circumvented a two-term limit he himself introduced to seek re-election, sparking the angry protests.The results were a huge setback to Wade who lost a million voters compared with the 2007 election, which he won in the first round.Analysts say he faces a tough battle to win the run-off as the opposition is fiercely united behind the goal to unseat him.Sall, a former prime minister, is gathering influential support from runners-up left behind in Sunday's poll.However, the 52-year-old has remained at the forefront of opposition protests against Wade who is seeking to rule into his 90s having circumvented a two-term limit he himself introduced.Government on EU report The government on Thursday criticized the European Union observer mission, saying it was "meddling" in the electoral process.The mission described the first round of voting process as "adequate", but spoke out against a ban on opposition demonstrations in the centre of the capital during the campaign and against what it termed was "lack of transparency" in the handing out of voting cards."European Union observers have most unfortunately meddled in the electoral process," Cheikh Gueye, the minister in charge of elections said in a letter sent to observer mission chief Thys Berman. The minister also warned he might revoke the mission's mandate.UN Secretary General UN chief Ban Ki-moon called for "civic responsibility" in Senegal ahead of the second round of an increasingly bitter presidential election.The UN secretary general "commends the people of Senegal for the peaceful and orderly manner" in which the first round was held last weekend, said Ban's spokesman Martin Nesirky.Ban particularly acknowledged the role of the "electoral authorities, security forces, civil society and political parties in upholding Senegal’s long-standing democratic tradition," Nesirky said."As the country prepares for a second round of voting to determine its future leadership, the secretary general appeals once again, for the same spirit of civic responsibility and democratic commitment to prevail throughout the process," he said
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