Senegalese return to work after Wade's historic poll victory
ATTENTION - RECASTS, ADDS Socialist party quotes, detail ///
by Rose-Marie Bruballa and Kader Diop
DAKAR, March 21 (AFP) - People in Senegal drifted back to work Tuesday
as
street parties celebrating the historic poll victory of opposition leader
Abdoulaye Wade wound down and the ousted Socialist Party (PS) conceded
defeat.
Thousands of people in Dakar had stopped work Monday to celebrate
Wade's
election which brings to an end the 40-year rule of the PS and the 18-year
rule of outgoing president Abdou Diouf.
PS officials told reporters the party accepted Wade's victory --
unofficial
results give him more than 60 percent of the vote -- and said it was
preparing
to take on its role in the opposition.
"We have accepted, and have neither blocked nor sabotaged, Wade's
victory
and we have passed on our congratulations," PS campaign spokesman Pape
Babacar
Mbaye told reporters.
The outgoing minister for women Aminata Mbengue Ndiaye congratulated
Diouf
on telephoning Wade early Monday to wish him success.
The gesture, said Ndiaye, proved Diouf "was a great man ... a true
democrat
who knew how to accept the outcome of the poll."
Ndiaye said deputies in their new opposition role "will now judge others
on
what they do."
The PS had come in for increasing criticism, accused of corruption and
fostering a rich elite, leading voters to opt massively for Wade's election
promise of change.
The 74-year old president elect who leads the Senegalese Democratic
Party
(PDS), was Tuesday still receiving guidance from his spiritual counsellor
in
the Muslim holy town of Touba.
But his incoming prime minister, Moustapha Niasse, told journalists
health,
security and employment would be priorities for the new government.
Niasse, a PS dissident who rallied to Wade's cause, said health care had
to
be made available to all, beggars had to be helped and good jobs provided
for
young people.
Niasse said that Senegal's chronic unemployment "throws young people
into
the streets" and leads to problems of insecurity.
"They too have to be convinced they can live with more dignity and for
that, they have to be given secure jobs," he said.
Meanwhile reactions to Wade's victory flooded in from abroad.
Jacques Chirac, the president of the former colonial power France,
congratulated Senegal on the transparency of the elections, adding: "This
is a
very good example for Africa, showing that constitutional methods allow
citizens to determine their future" without violence.
Alassane Ouattara, a former prime minister of Ivory Coast who is to
stand
in presidential elections there following a military coup last December,
praised the people of Senegal for their "maturity."
Newspapers in neighbouring west African countries said Wade's election
victory was an example for the rest of Africa.
"Far beyond the Senegalese dimension, the historic victory... has an
African dimension," said Benin daily Les Echos du Jour.
In Senegal, meanwhile, the editor of the government daily Le Soleil said
he
would step down along with Diouf.
Ibrahim Gaye wrote in his editorial comment he was ending his 28-year-
long
career at the paper. "The fact I share the values and ideas of the
exceptional
man that Diouf is means I must step down with him."
Wade will officially take over as president on April 2 or 3, PDS
campaign
officials told AFP.
rmb-kd/kc/nb
Senegal-politics
Senegal's next prime minister sets out priorities
DAKAR, March 21 (AFP) - The incoming prime minister of Senegal,
Moustapha
Niasse, vowed Tuesday that health, security and employment will be
priorities
for the government he will lead under president-elect Abdoulaye Wade.
Niasse, who rallied to veteran opposition leader Wade in Sunday's
historic
poll which saw an end to 40 years of rule by the Socialist Party, told
journalists that helping beggars was also a key issue.
He stressed the need to make health care available to all, including the
homeless, and to provide good jobs for young people.
"Particular attention has to be paid to the problem of beggars who are
everywhere in the streets," said Niasse.
"They must be taught they can live with more dignity than as beggars."
Niasse, a Socialist Party dissident who has formed an Alliance of Forces
for Progress (AFP), said that Senegal's chronic unemployment "throws young
people into the streets" and leads to problems of insecurity.
"They too have to be convinced they can live with more dignity and for
that, they have to be given secure jobs," he said.
Wade, the 74-year-old leader of the Senegalese Democratic Party (SDP)
beat
the incumbent President Abdou Diouf, 65, in the second round of
presidential
elections Sunday, a victory which he credited to the youth of Senegal.
He has left no doubt that he will make Niasse head of government. The
two
men are close and Niasse was one of five out of the six candidates who
stood
down after a first round of voting on February 27 and swung his weight
behind
Wade.
The Socialist Party has ruled since independence from France in 1960,
but
has been wracked by internal dissent and criticised for fostering a rich
elite.
Voters reacted by opting massively for Wade's campaign promise of
change.
Niasse said that the abolition of the Senate, an upper house of
parliament
created by Diouf which the incoming prime minister judges costly and
"useless", would make funds available for new jobs.
The Senate should be abolished "before the end of the year," Niasse said.
Wade's victory has not been confirmed officially, but unofficial results
have given him over 60 percent of the vote and Diouf acknowledged defeat on
Monday, telephoning his rival to congratulate him and wish him well.
Wade appears likely to take power on April 2.
rmb/kc/nb
Senegal-vote,lead
Senegal's President Diouf accepts defeat at polls
DAKAR, March 20 (AFP) - Senegalese President Abdou Diouf accepted defeat
at
the polls on Monday, telephoning his rival Abdoulaye Wade to congratulate
him
on winning Sunday's election, state-owned Radio Senegal announced.
In a statement read on the radio, Diouf said he wished every success to
Wade "in this noble and exalting task at the service of the Senegalese
people
as a whole".
The broadcast, picked up by independent radio stations, led to an
explosion
of joy in Dakar as people applauded on the streets and balconies of the
capital and car drivers pumped their horns, an AFP correspondent said.
rmb/nb/kc
Senegal-vote,sched-2ndlead
Opposition veteran Wade ousts Senegal's President Diouf
by Rose-Marie Bruballa
DAKAR, March 20 (AFP) - Senegalese opposition leader Abdoulaye Wade has
defeated President Abdou Diouf at the polls after 40 years of uninterrupted
Socialist Party rule, the head of state gracefully acknowledged Monday.
Diouf telephoned his rival, head of the Senegalese Democratic Party
(SDP),
to congratulate him on winning Sunday's election, state-owned Radio Senegal
announced even before official results had been made known.
In a statement read out on the radio, Diouf said he wished every success
to
the 74-year-old lawyer "in this noble and exalting task at the service of
the
Senegalese people as a whole".
The broadcast, picked up at once by independent radio stations, led to
an
explosion of joy in Dakar as people applauded on the streets and balconies
of
the capital and car drivers pumped their horns, an AFP correspondent said.
Opposition coalition members who had backed Wade were swift to commend
Diouf's stance, issuing a statement praising him as "a son worthy of
Senegal"
and stressing that "one can't run a country without making mistakes".
Wade, whose career has seen him both dean of the law faculty of Dakar
University and several times a political prisoner for his opposition to the
Socialists, has campaigned since 1974 for alternate political party rule.
He describes himself as a "committed pan-Africanist" and likes to recall
that when he founded the PDS, he breached the fortress of single-party
African
politics at a time when the continental trend was armed liberation
movements.
Sunday's poll made history in the west African country. Diouf, head of
state since 1981, has never previously seen a challenge against him go to a
second run-off round of voting -- though Wade has told supporters that he
had
really already been elected twice, but the figures were rigged.
The opposition leader was swift to claim victory in the earliest hours
of
Monday. On partial results, Diouf lost in almost all the big towns,
including
Dakar itself, which accounts for about a quarter of the registered
electorate
of some 2.6 million.
Opposition supporters flooded on to the streets as the Senegalese
capital
resounded to their cries of "Sopi!", or "change" in Wolof, the watchword
Wade
had adopted after all his years in opposition.
Moustapha Niasse, a former foreign minister who quit Diouf's party last
year to found the Alliance of Progressive Forces (APF), a Wade ally, is
expected to become head of government.
Wade was on Sunday night driving around with Niasse, promising people
that
they would devote themselves "to the sole interest of the nation". The two
men
are known greatly to respect each other, while the prime minister apparent
has
already pledged general elections.
Asked about his programme, Niasse said his first task would be "to
re-establish the country's equilibrium and stop the wave of corruption".
Wade's electoral campaign seemed short on detail, apart from the idea of
change, but his win had been considered likely.
Niasse has pledged to scrap the Senate which he described as a costly
and
unpopular institution founded by Diouf, instead holding elections to "give
a
better representation to the people."
The president was unable to win the support of young voters, with youth
unemployment now affecting about half of the country's nine million people.
The Socialist Party has been shaken by leadership struggles and dissent,
while for the first time the head of state failed to obtain backing from
most
of the powerful Muslim brotherhoods, which remained neutral and gave no
"ndebele", or voting recommendations, as they had in the past.
Diouf had recently said that if his rival won he would bow out of
politics
"without a backward glance".
When results were in from 700 polling stations regarded as key
indicators,
Wade had taken close to 65 percent of the votes, an interior ministry
source
said.
rmb/nb/kc
Senegal-vote,3rdlead
Voters dance in Dakar as Wade elected, ending 40 year Socialist Party
rule
ATTENTION - RECASTS, ADDS aides say working on new government ///
DAKAR, March 20 (AFP) - Joyful voters danced in the streets of Dakar
Monday
to celebrate the election victory of opposition leader Abdoulaye Wade which
brought an end of 40 years of Socialist Party rule.
Early in the day, the defeated president Abdou Diouf gracefully
congratulated his rival, reading out a statement on state radio saying he
wished every success to the 74-year-old lawyer "in this noble and exalting
task at the service of the Senegalese people as a whole".
People applauded on the streets and balconies of the capital and car
drivers pumped their horns, an AFP correspondent said.
Street parties began overnight Sunday as the head of the Senegalese
Democratic Party (SDP) claimed victory after the second round of voting.
With
65 percent of votes counted so far in his favour, Wade is set to finally
step
into the seat he has fought for for decades.
The result marks a turnaround in the Senegalese political scene, ruled
by
the Socialist Party for four decades and by Diouf for 18 years. The party
had
been weakened by leadership struggles and dissent and Diouf had never
before
had to fight through a second round of voting.
Wade meanwhile travelled to see his spiritual guide in the holy town of
Touba, his legal advisor Madicke Niang said.
Wade, a devout Muslim, had promised he make the trip to visit his guide,
the head of the powerful Mourides brotherhood if he won the elections.
Meanwhile, Wade has begun working on plans for his new government, close
aides told AFP. With results officialised, he will take over as president
early April, and will, most expect, name Moustapha Niasse prime minister.
Niasse is a former foreign minister and ex-presidential candidate who
rallied to Wade's cause.
The new prime minister will be charged with forming a transition
government, which will remain in place until legislative elections in
November.
Wade is currently working on selecting the rest of his government team,
and
could announce who will hold which key portfolios in the next few days,
before
he officially takes over, close aides said.
He gave few details of his programme during his campaign -- a move he
justified late Sunday saying, "I am a responsible man, that's why I did not
make any demogogical promises."
However, the indefatigable 74-year old has announced -- through Niasse
--
that he has already drawn up a list of top priorities in the fields of
education, health and employment.
Niasse will have around one month to draw up a programme which will go
to a
referendum. The broad lines of that programme are already well known:
Niasse
will call for the abolition of the Senate, which he judges costly and
"useless," the dissolution of the National Assembly and the adoption of a
new
electoral law and electoral commission.
One of Wade's first foreign trips as president will be to Guinea Bissau,
where he will discuss the situation in the next-door Senegalese province
Casamance, where rebel separatists have been battling the government for
the
last 17 years.
Meanwhile in France, the ruling Socialist Party welcomed the results of
the
election, while praising Diouf.
Diouf, "who installed the multiparty system from 1981 onwards, has made
it
possible for Senegal to project a fitting and responsible image of Africa,"
a
party statement said.
On partial results, Diouf lost in almost all the big towns, including
Dakar
itself, which accounts for about a quarter of the registered electorate of
some 2.6 million.
rmb/kc/dc
Senegal-vote,sched-new-series
Opposition veteran Wade claims Senegal presidential triumph
by Jean-Noel Gillet
DAKAR, March 20 (AFP) - The west African state of Senegal appeared
Monday
to have made history by rejecting its 40-year-old Socialist Party regime
and
choosing veteran 74-year-old opposition veteran Abdoulaye Wade as president.
Wade, a self-proclaimed liberal allied with leftist parties, swiftly
claimed victory in Sunday's run-off vote for Senegal's presidency as early
results put him well ahead of President Abdou Diouf, in power since 1981.
Although the results were only partial and unofficial, Wade's supporters
partied into the night after the Senegalese Democratic Party (SDP) leader's
claim to have unseated Diouf, an assertion backed up by an early interior
ministry assessment.
The long-standing rivals contested the west African democracy's first
ever
run-off presidential vote on Sunday after a first round on February 27
proved
inconclusive, before the six other candidates dropped out.
Opposition supporters flooded on to Dakar's streets early Monday as the
Senegalese capital resounded to their cries of "Sopi!", or "change" in
Wolof,
the watchword Wade had adopted after 26 years in opposition.
Wade told them: "With the figures that I have available, I expect to win
with more than 60 percent of the votes, It's a day of liberation".
Moustapha Niasse, a former foreign minister who quit Diouf's party last
year to found the Alliance of Progressive Forces (APF), a Wade ally, is
expected to become prime minister if Wade is confirmed as new head of state.
Asked about his programme, Niasse said his first task would be "to
re-establish the country's equilibrium and stop the wave of corruption".
A win for Wade would transform the political landscape in Senegal, with
the
dissolution of the national assembly dominated by the Socialist Party.
Wade, a lawyer and pioneer of African opposition politics who founded
his
party in 1974, presents himself as a solid liberal, although allied with
parties further to the left.
His campaign programme seemed short on detail, but his likely win is
seen
as the rejection of a regime worn out by 40 years of power and a victory
for
the democratic process in a country proud of having one.
Senegal has long been considered a model of African democracy, though
no
party has ever managed to unseat the Socialists.
With results in from 700 key polling stations out of a total of 8,442
nationwide, Wade had won around 65 percent of the votes, according to the
interior ministry.
Diouf recently said that if his rival wins he would bow out of politics
"without a backward glance".
bur/da/nb
sidi sanneh
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