Jaajef wa G-L,
More news from the elections in Senegal, roughly transalated by myself from the Daily Wal Fadjri:(http://www1.telecomplus.sn/walf/).
Yeenduleen ak jaama
Tony
First Indications:
Dakar submerged by the Blue tide (Blue being the colour of Abdoulaye Wade's coalition)
In the first round of voting Abdoulaye Wade left no chances for Abdou Diouf. Everywhere in Dakar and the suburbs the candidate of the Sopi coalition was able to demonstrate a crushing lead over other candidates.
In the majority of polling stations at this first round Abdoulaye Wade left nothing for his long-standing rival. He confirmed that Dakar and it's suburbs have turned their backs on the Partie Socialist and it's leader Abdou Diouf. Even traditional Lebou villages such as Quakam became submerged by the "blue tide". One asks oneself whether in Dakar, Pikine et Guédiawaye there is any "island" of support where the Socialist candidate could cling to avoid being drowned in the blue waters of the capital.
One only has to look at the results from representative voting centres to understand that what has been seen is no a defeat for Abdou Diouf , but a debacle. The voting centre at the Cheikh Mouhamadou
Sakho School (Ouagou Niayes), which is made up of 6 polling stations the results were as follows: Abdoulaye Wade- 1,005. Abdou Diouf - 465 . Mustapha Niasse - 678. At the El Hadj Amadou Diagne Woré School, also in Ouagou Niayes, Mr Wade's victory was even more crushing. In the 10 polling station which make up this large voting centre, the candidate of the Change 2000 coalition (A.Wade) scored 1,694 votes against Diouf's 697 and the AFP (Niasse) at 780 votes. In Ouakam, at the El Hadj Mbaye Diop centre the results were: A.Wade 1164. A.Diouf 679 votes. At the Camp de Ouakam School similar results: Wade 353 ; Abdou Diouf 124 beaten by Niasse with 238votes.
A constant pattern emerges: the candidate of Change 2000 doubled or even tripled the score of Diouf. Other results: Cambérène where 2414 voted for Wade against 1435 for Diouf followed by Niasse at 1190. In
Parcelles-Assainies, a traditionally strong "Blue" area Wade scored 3385 votes against only 1030 for Diouf. Grand-Yoff, commune de Khalifa Sall,in 5 polling stations Wadewon 6769 votes against Diouf's 2716, a gap of 4053 votes.
Looking at the figures for Ouakam, Colobane, Point E, Grand-Yoff,
Mermoz, Pikine..., a similar picture emerges, that of a landslide with only small variations. This atmosphere will follow on in the second round where an electorate hungry for change will want to surpass their achievements of the 27th of February.
The PS (Socialist Party) can no longer rely on any support base in Dakar. The "Diouf factor" will no longer work for his party due to this devastating defeat.
It is not only Diouf that fell victim to the "Blue Tide". In Dakar both Djibo Kâ et Iba Der Thiam failed to reach the level they achieved in the Legislative elections of 1998. In places like Ouagou Niayes, Djibo Kâ only managed 345 votes whilst Professor Iba Der Thiam got 65.
Even in the interior of Senegal the results were not much more encouraging for Diouf. At Mbour, previously a PS stronghold, and where the Mayor made a triumphal speech during a meeting on the eve of campaign closure, the green (colour of PS) has faded and become tinted with a blue which threatens to become darker in the second round. The Mbour results were: Diouf: 8646 ; Wade : 8434.
Jean Meïssa DIOP
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