Senegal polls open

Two months of electoral suspense are coming to a close in Senegal on Sunday as a run-off election for the presidency gets under way.

Two-term incumbent Abdoulaye Wade, 85, is facing stiff competition from his former prime minister and now opponent Macky Sall, who has gathered the full weight of the opposition behind his bid for the post.

During the first round of voting in February, Wade won with 34.8 percent of the vote, compared to Sall's 26.58 percent, but neither of the candidates had the absolute majority needed to claim the presidency.

All of the opposition candidates who were defeated in the first round are now backing Sall to win.

Wade's bid is controversial

Deadly protests flared in the months leading up to the first vote after Wade used a constitutional loophole to seek a third term, despite the two-term limit.

Despite having served two terms, a limit he himself introduced, Wade said later changes to the constitution allowed him to serve two more mandates as the law was not retroactive - and the argument was upheld by the country's constitutional council.

Long lines formed outside polling stations for the election in which some 5.3 million people have registered to vote.

"Everything is well organized and we are happy to carry out our civic duty," said Leonard Diop, a voter at the Hamadou Mbacke primary school in downtown Dakar, where about 100 people waited patiently to vote.

Opposition stands a good chance

Analysts believe Sall, 50, has a good chance of gaining the presidency, having focused his campaign on Senegal's youth, as well as on the unemployed and disillusioned. Sall has promised to create more job opportunities in rural areas and bring down food prices.

"The Senegalese people have made it clear that they have had enough of the current leadership, that they want to turn the page," Sall told dpa before Sunday's vote.

"If Wade does not win, I hope he will have the wisdom to step down gracefully," he added.

But Wade, who has been accused of grooming his son Karim to succeed him, still has plenty of supporters. Wade finished campaigning earlier this week with a promise that the vote would be fair and transparent. He was first elected in 2000 on a platform of democracy and human rights.

Wade has maintained throughout that his candidacy is fair and that he has more work to do for Senegal.

Star calls for change

But at a campaign rally for Sall earlier this week, Senegalese megastar Youssou N'dour - who was banned from running for president over a technicality - told the crowd that Wade's time is up.

"Senegal doesn't have a title deed belonging to [Wade's] family," he said. "We want change and it's going to happen. Wade, let go."

Sunday's poll was being monitored by about 300 international observers from the EU, African Union and ECOWAS regional body of states. Provisional results are expected within two days.

tm/dfm (AFP, dpa)