Court rejects Senegal election fraud appeal
March 14, 2007 | Leave a Comment
afrol News, 12 March – Senegal’s
highest judicial authority, the Constitutional Court, yesterday
rejected an appeal filed by some opposition leaders to annul the
results of the 25 February presidential polls. The court consequently
confirmed the re-election of President Abdoulaye Wade, who polled 55.9
percent of the valid ballots.
A panel of constitutional judges, who
disclosed their verdict to the media, ruled out any "cheating or
irregularity" in the conduct of the polls, arguing that the opposition
petitions "lacked grounds."
At the polls, Mr Wade was followed by his former Prime Minister,
Idrissa Secka, who scored 15 percent of the votes. Mr Seck had been
quiet since the results were first declared.
But he convened a news conference today to finally concede defeat as
well as congratulate President Wade on his victory. The former Prime
Minister was not among the opposition that questioned fairness of the
results.
Mr Wade, who had earlier announced to settle scores with some
opposition leaders, accusing them of harming the state through official
corruption, said he does not care about Mr Seck’s congratulatory
message. Mr Wade wondered why Mr Seck would wait until last minute to
congratulate him.
President Wade accused Mr Seck of stealing over franc CFA 40 billion
(euro 60 million) from the state coffers and to have deposited them in
foreign banks accounts.
President Wade said he had forgiven all those who harmed him personally
but that he would not forgive those who harmed the country. He said he
was waiting for the elections to pass so that the state resumes its
normal life.
The leaders of Socialist Party (PS) and Democratic League/Movement for
the Labour Party (LD/MLP) – Ousmane Tanor Dieng and Abdoulaye Bathily -
had filed the appeal against the provisional results, insisting that
the voting process was marred by irregularities, although international
observers had not questioned the outcome of the polls.
While Mr Dieng ranked third position with 13.57 percent, Mr Bathily sat
on the sixth position with only 2.21 percent of the votes.
The PS spokesperson, Aissata Tall-Sall, said she was disappointed with
the court’s decision because "our arguments were absolutely
indisputable because the results from 31 of the 35 regional districts
failed to tally, for they were contained in ballot boxes without stamps
of the Autonomous National Electoral Commission."
She said her party leadership had expected the nullification of the results and not the other way round.
By staff writer
© afrol News
Senegal’s Wade hopes to build nuclear power plant
March 13, 2007 | Leave a Comment
DAKAR - Wade, who won a second five-year term in a landslide "It was not just a statement he made during the Power shortages continue to hamper economic development Despite increasing world interest in nuclear power as an They say large regional markets for nuclear power need to Grand infrastructure projects such as a new coastal
Senegal’s newly re-elected President Abdoulaye Wade has contacted
foreign experts to advise on building a nuclear power plant, part of an
ambitious programme to develop the country’s creaking infrastructure.
re-election last month, has already started building new five-star
hotels and airports in the West African country and has plans for
museums, theatres and a nuclear plant.
campaign," one of his advisers, Christian Sina Diatta, told
pro-government daily newspaper Le Soleil in today’s edition. "It’s an
option the head of state has been working on for some time and he has
already been in contact with nuclear powers who are behind Senegal," he
said. He gave no details on which countries had been contacted for
advice.
across sub-Saharan Africa. In Senegal, one of the most stable countries
in West Africa, regular blackouts – some of them lasting more than 10
hours – forced the government to requisition oil stocks late last year.
alternative to coal and oil-powered generation, massive costs and a
lack of specialists could scupper Africa’s nuclear ambitions, at least
in the medium term, energy experts say.
be developed before such big investments become viable. If Wade’s plan
comes to fruition, it could be energy-starved Africa’s first nuclear
power plant outside SA. Egypt, Nigeria and Tunisia have also announced
intentions to build nuclear power stations in the long term.
highway around the capital Dakar and the promise of new schools helped
Wade win re-election in the February 25 polls, although many of the
city’s rubbish-strewn suburbs are mired in poverty.
Senegal election authority declares Wade official winner of presidency
March 12, 2007 | Leave a Comment
DAKAR, Senegal:
Senegal’s electoral authorities on Sunday confirmed President Abdoulaye
Wade as the winner of last month’s election, rejecting charges of
cheating and officially giving the octogenarian president five more
years at the helm of the West African nation.
Wade won with about 1.9 million votes, or 56 percent of valid
ballots, compared with 15 percent for runner-up Idrissa Seck, declared
Senegal’s constitutional council — the final authority on elections.
The winning candidate needed more than 50 percent of the vote to avoid
a runoff.
The council also rejected claims by two of the 14 opposition
candidates that irregularities in the voting process should invalidate
the results. Marxist candidate Abdoulaye Bathily, who finished sixth
with 2 percent of the vote, had said some ballots were not properly
signed by election officials and that voting continued for five hours
after the polls officially closed on the night of Feb. 25.
Ousmane Tanor Dieng, who finished third with about 14 percent of the
total, had also asked for annulment of the vote, though his campaign
did not release his specific complaints.
The petitions by the candidates were "without foundation," said
chief clerk Ndeye Maguette Mbengue. He did not provide further details.
