Senegal's Wade digs heels in despite outcry

Senegal's opposition on Friday pilloried President Abdoulaye Wade, accusing the 85-year-old of being out of touch with his people after vowing to seek and win a third term in office. In a much anticipated address to the nation delivered late Thursday night, Wade challenged the opposition, saying he was ready to call an early election in as little as 40 days if "necessary for social cohesion and harmony". His speech was lambasted Friday by opposition parties, civil society and national media who saw it as a diversion from calls that Wade drop his plans to run elections slated for February 2012. The address to the nation came three weeks after Wade's regime faced unprecedented riots over crippling power cuts and his attempts to change election laws. If "the opposition is in a hurry and sure" it will win, "I can see an early presidential election, if that is necessary for social cohesion and national harmony," said Wade, in front of members of his government. "If at the end of an early election the population places its trust in someone other than me, I will congratulate him. But in both cases (early or scheduled vote), I am afraid that there will be no winner but me," he added. He said the violence at the end of June was "totally unacceptable" and said accusations he was lining his son Karim up as his successor were just "gossip". Wade's critics say he hopes to win the election and then hand over power to his 42-year-old son, who is not popular enough to win on his own ticket. The younger Wade was made minister of cooperation, regional development, air transport, and infrastructure in 2009, and in October 2010 was given the energy portfolio. Proposed election law amendments -- which would have added a vice president to the presidential ticket and dropped the winning threshold for a first-round victory to 25 percent of votes from the current 50 percent -- were shelved after the riots. The opposition Socialist Party (SP) accused Wade of "remaining deaf to the message" of his people. "Instead of giving them answers ... he put on a ridiculous show." Instead of a solemn address to the country, the president chose to speak in front of his supporters, about 20 of whom sang his praises in a series of speeches which lasted five hours before Wade spoke. "Contempt for the population is evident in the diversion with his out of context proposals," said the SP in a statement, calling for the organisation of more protests to force Wade not to run for office. Alioune Tine of local human rights group RADDHO said Wade "did not get to the crux of the matter which is his eligibility. Everything else is a diversion." Local media also shot down the speech with headlines such as: "Wade provides electoral comedy", "Wade, the show and the terror", "Wade misses his exit", "Wade refuses to change" in the major private daily newspapers. Political analysts in L'Observateur likened Wade's speech to that of a "warlord" and compared him to Ivory Coast's former president Laurent Gbagbo. The ousted Ivorian strongman's desperate attempt to cling to power following last year's elections led to a protracted and deadly crisis. Wade was first elected for a seven year term in 2000 and again in 2007 for a five-year mandate after a constitutional change shortened the presidential term. Constitutionally a president can only serve two mandates. However Wade's supporters say this only comes into play after the law change and he is thus entitled to another term in office. The issue is to be decided by the country's Constitutional Council.