CDDRL scholar cautions against third term for Senegalese president

Signe OpEd Logo Defaced campaign poster of President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal.

In an opinion piece for The New York Times, CDDRL postdoctoral scholar Landry Signé discusses Senegal's backsliding democracy and the threat that President Abdoulaye Wade's third presidential bid poses to a country that was once West Africa's most stable. By manipulating the legal system, Wade was able to violate the constitution's two-term limit, but was unsuccessful in securing the necessary 50 percent of votes in Sunday's presidential race to avoid a runoff. Signé depicts the corruption, repression, and institutional manipulation Wade has committed to this young electoral democracy, impressing on the international community the urgency of supporting and defending Senegal's democratic traditions.