New Senegal President Pledges ‘Democratic Change’
Longtime opposition leader Abdoulaye Wade was sworn in Saturday as president of Senegal, ending 40 years of one-party rule.
About 80,000 people filled the national stadium here in the capital. They cheered wildly and chanted “sopi” (“change”) in the Wolof language.
“My election has opened up a new era, that of democratic change,” Wade said after he was sworn in by the president of the constitutional court. “Henceforth the people of Africa will know that democratic change is possible and they will fight for it.”
The election was a rare peaceful and democratic power transfer on a continent plagued by election fraud, coups and civil wars.
Former President Abdou Diouf, who came to power in 1981, did not wait for the official results before conceding defeat to his rival in a runoff ballot last month. Wade won 58.5% of the vote to 41.5% for Diouf.
Throughout Saturday’s ceremony, thousands of excited spectators flooded the field to try to get a better view of the proceedings. Security officials, who initially fought back spectators with batons, eventually gave up and allowed them to fill the field. At least 10 people were injured.
After the ceremony, which was attended by six African heads of state, Diouf received Wade at the presidential palace, where he formally handed over power.
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