AP News, April 4th, 2007
Abdoulaye Wade, Senegal's 80-year-old president, was inaugurated Tuesday before a crowd of 60,000 that included more than 20 African heads of state.
The crowd, decked out in the yellow and blue colors of Wade's ruling party, applauded after the president raised his right hand and swore to uphold Senegal's constitution. Folks songs from the African nation played at the ceremony.
"We have shown the world that in Africa, as in all the world's major democracies, we can wake up on the morning following an election and count votes, instead of counting bodies," said Wade, who won a second five-year term in February elections.
In attendance were Moammar Gadhafi, Libya's flamboyant dictator who recently celebrated 30 years of rule, as well as Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
Ghana President John Kufuor called Senegal's election "another stone in the construction of a democracy in Africa."
International monitors declared the elections free and transparent, although a coalition of opposition candidates said there was evidence of fraud. Two leading candidates filed lawsuits, claiming fraud at specific polling stations.
Wade ran against a field of 14 contenders and was more than a decade older than the oldest of his competitors. His age has earned him the nickname "Gorgui," a Wolof word meaning old man that is a term of affection and respect, which he used to his advantage on campaign posters.
Among the most stable of African nations, Senegal has long been seen as an oasis of political calm on a continent plagued by coups, totalitarian regimes and corrupt governments. Unlike most African elections, the campaign and the days following the Feb. 25 election were relatively free of violence.
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Associated Press writer Serigne Adama Boye in Dakar contributed to this report.
