Ex-president returns for elections in Senegal

DAKAR: Former Senegalese president Abdoulaye Wade, 91, has returned to the capital to lead his party for the forthcoming elections after spending years abroad after a failed attempt at securing a third term in office.

He flew into Dakar on Monday from Paris, with his wife Viviane. He retains a strong support base in Senegal, which is holding legislative elections on July 30, the Voice of America reported. Wade will head the list of candidates for his opposition Senegalese Democratic Party and will lead other opposition parties in a coalition.

His arrival in Dakar was greeted by his supporters who cheered him amid tight security.

The former president was last in Senegal in April 2014 when his son Karim faced corruption charges, and the illegal accumulation of a vast sum of money. Karim was sentenced to six years in prison – only half of which he served.

A reception rally to greet Wade on his previous arrival in Dakar was cancelled for security reasons.

Wade’s supporters alleged the charges against his son were politically trumped up and part of a personal vendetta – an allegation echoed by his family.

He was elected president in 2000 and hailed one of the few African democrats. His reputation as a democrat crumbled in the months leading to the 2012 elections after he was accused of solidifying his son’s rise to power.

During the elections, Senegal was hit by protests which paralysed the capital with protesters warning Wade not to seek a third term. He lost to President Macky Sall in the 2012 run-off, and went abroad.

Sall’s presidential run has seen highs and lows punctuated by complaints he has not done enough for ordinary Senagalese.

The July 30 elections will see Senegal elect 150 deputies to Parliament. Should Wade’s party secure more than 75 seats it will win a majority.