Politics
Senegal presidential elections: Wade booed as he votes
“It’s a situation that we’ve never experienced before. We’ve always voted in an atmosphere of calm. And now? Everyone is predicting trouble,” said 55-year-old homemaker Marie Diop.
Worrying for many analysts is the lack of confidence in the very institutions that have long been held up in Senegal. Just days before the constitutional court was due to vote last month on whether Wade was eligible to run again, the judges received new, government-issued luxury cars, according to the court’s spokesman.
And the chief justice saw his salary jump to US$10,000 per month in a nation where most people earn US$90 per month. The fear is that even if Wade were to win legally, the confidence in the institutions has been so eroded that people will not accept his victory as legitimate.
Wade has dismissed these fears, and in an interview published Sunday in the French newspaper Journal du Dimanche he said he doesn’t fear rioting because “a revolt by Senegalese against me is unthinkable.”
The ruling party remains popular in many corners of the country, and despite mounting criticism the government is credited with undertaking the biggest building boom in Senegal’s history.
Nearly every economic indicator in the country has improved since he took office 12 years ago, from literacy which grew from 39 to 50 percent, to the average life span which increased from 56 to 59 years, according to World Bank data.
Those voting for the president cite examples of how his reforms have touched their own lives, like 63-year-old Habib Sane, who has been the official florist for Senegal’s last three presidents.
“I needed to get dialysis. Before it was 50,000 (US$100) per session. Now it’s 10,000 (US$20). I would have died if it cost what it cost before, because I don’t have that kind of money,” said Sane, whose monthly salary is around US$320. “I’ve worked for all three presidents, and I can tell you that there have been real changes.”
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press
