Senegal court says Wade can run for third presidential term

DAKAR (AFP) - Protesters in Senegal clashed with police late Friday after a court approved President Abdoulaye Wade to seek a highly disputed third term, but barred music icon Youssou Ndour from running.

Anti-Wade protesters threw stones at police who responded with batons and tear gas after the much-anticipated ruling, which thousands of people had gathered to hear, was finally handed down.

Youths set fire to tyres and engaged in running battles with police in the streets around la Place de l'Obelisque, one of the main squares in Colobane, a working class district of the capital.

An AFP journalist caught up with a group of protesters there was struck in the face by a police baton.

A little earlier, in the more affluent suburb of Almadies, the list of eligible candidates had been posted up on at the office of the Constitutional Council.

They included the names of three ex-prime ministers, Idrissa Seck, Macky Sall and Moustapha Niasse and main opposition leader Ousmane Tanor Dieng.

Ndour, who shocked the music world when he announced earlier in January he was quitting singing for politics, was left off the list. It was not immediately clear why.

The constitutional row over Wade's ambitions has set one of Africa's most stable democracies on edge and the international community has expressed concern over the potential for violence, appealing for calm.

The ruling seals months of speculation over the interpretation of the constitution on presidential mandates.

Wade was first elected in 2000 for a seven-year mandate, and re-elected in 2007 under a new constitution for a five-year mandate. In 2008 the constitution was changed again to allow for two seven-year terms from 2012.

Wade argued this allowed him to run again, twice if he so wishes, but the opposition condemned this as illegal.

Observers have warned against a repetition of violent riots in June last year and clashes between rival parties in December which left one person dead.