Presidential politics in Senegal is in full swing now that President Abdoulaye Wade's party made official his controversial bid for a third term in the February elections. The announcement has re-ignited a six-month-old opposition movement.

President Wade’s Senegalese Democratic Party [PDS] chose a controversial date to announce a controversial decision. The party confirmed that the president is its candidate for the February 26 election at a rally on Friday, which is the six-month anniversary of one of his biggest political defeats.

It was on June 23 - in the face of protests and riots - that Wade was forced to withdraw a proposed constitutional referendum to make it easier for him to win the upcoming election in the first round.

M23 rises

The popular uprising gave birth to an opposition movement called the June 23 Movement, or M23, in commemoration of the victory.

Group organizers did not miss the opportunity to celebrate its six-month anniversary, and now to protest Wade's candidacy with another demonstration at the Place d'Obelisque in the heart of Dakar.

An M23 organizer said Wade will not be a candidate in[...]

[Published in AidNews - Read the original article]