Abdou Diouf

By voting out their President of 17 years Abdou Diouf they have steered the country into the unknown territory of Sopi (meaning 'change' in Wolof) the main slogan of Abdoulaye Wade's victorious campaign...

Now President Abdou Diouf faces his toughest electoral battle yet...

President Abdou Diouf's plans for a fourth term in office face two big obstacles in the 27 February elections: growing militancy and coordination among the opposition parties and France's dwindling enthusiasm for propping up African incumbents...

Wobbly Presidents such as Biya Senegal's Abdou Diouf or Gabon's Omar Bongo should take note...

Senegal's President Abdou Diouf has a near-impossible task in getting himself legitimately reelected in February...

Senegalese President Abdou Diouf also facing re-election next year is a Bédié-ally...

If he refuses the blandishments of those encouraging him to go for a third term Konaré will further stand out from his fellow long-standing Francophone leaders Côte d'Ivoire's Henri Konan-Bédié and Senegal's Abdou Diouf - both of whom face elections next year which threaten to degenerate into chaos and violence...

More conventionally Sall a cheerleader for President Abdou Diouf's campaign for re-election in February (AC Vol 40 No 16) signed off on 15 October: 'You'll be hearing all about Senegal after February 2000...

He is certainly less likely to listen to Paris than for example Gabon's Omar Bongo Senegal's Abdou Diouf or Togo's Gnassingbé Eyadéma...

The campaign will be hard fought and among those preparing to challenge President Abdou Diouf are the old bruiser Abdoulaye Wade (freshened up after a long break in Versailles with his French wife Viviane) who is Secretary General of the Parti Démocratique Sénégalais and two rebels from the ruling Parti Socialiste: Djibo Kâ of the Union pour le Renouveau Démocratique and former Foreign Minister Moustapha Niasse of the Alliance des Forces du Progrès one of Senegal's more charismatic politicians...