Vote counting is under way in Senegal, after a fiercely contested presidential runoff election. The country's opposition is backing former prime minister Macky Sall as he tries to keep incumbent President Abdoulaye Wade from winning a controversial third term in office.
Voting was calm in Senegal on Sunday for the second-round election.
Hundreds of supporters cheered President Abdoulaye Wade as he cast his ballot in Dakar, chanting his nickname "Gorgui," a term of endearment that means "old man."
Supporter Mbary Diop noted that outsiders claim Mr. Wade is unpopular in Senegal. Pointing at the crowd, Diop said, "See for yourself the passion the people have for him." He said the president embodies Senegal's future, change and development.
It was a stark contrast to the scene here four weeks ago, when onlookers booed Mr. Wade as he voted during the initial election.
Mr. Wade led that round with 35 percent of the vote, but he fell short of the sweeping victory he had promised.
Casting his ballot Sunday, Mr. Wade said he did not win outright in the first round of voting because of a fear-mongering campaign that kept nearly half the voters away from the polls. He said French and U.S. officials warned that violence might erupt if he sought a third term in office. But the first round of voting, he said, was peaceful.
Across town, in the working class neighborhood of Parcelles Assainies, a dozen friends gathered for tea, as they do most Sundays.
Each showed his ink-stained finger and remaining Wade ballot paper as proof that he had put the ballot for challenger Macky Sall in the urn.
Pape Ndaw said he did not vote in the first round, but that he woke up early Sunday to vote against Mr. Wade. He said he voted for Mr. Wade in 2000, but that the president did not live up to his promises.
Mr. Wade was wildly popular 12 years ago, when he came to office. He easily won reelection in 2007. But electric power cuts, unemployment and a rising cost of living have since disenchanted many Senegalese.
The president is seeking a third mandate, despite a two-term limit. The Constitutional Court ruled in January that he could run, sparking violent protests that killed at least six people before the first round vote.
Casting his ballot in Dakar, Mohamed Dia says he voted for Mr. Sall because he wants change. The president, he said, is too old to run the country and that presidents should serve no more than two terms.
At 85-years-old, Mr. Wade is Africa's second oldest leader. Mr. Sall is more than three decades his junior.
Macky Sall left the Wade government in late 2008. The president's former protege has promised to reform the government and reduce the price of basic goods. He cast his ballot in Fatick, where he is the mayor.
The former prime minister won 27 percent of the vote in the first round of balloting and now has the backing of the 12 other opposition candidates.
Election observers from the European Union and the Economic Community of West African States called on Senegal to set an example and live up to its reputation as one of Africa's most stable and celebrated democracies. There were reports of some irregularities. EU observers pointed to issues involving the distribution of voter cards and to some 130,000 dead people who still were on voting rolls.
Provisional results of the election are expected in a few days.
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