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AU/ECOWAS Mission moves to douse tension ahead of Senegal's poll

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) - The African Union/ECOWAS Joint High-Level Mission to Senegal on Wednesday swung into action, a few hours after arriving in Dakar, to help douse tension ahead of Sunday's presidential election in the West African nation.

The mission, headed by former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, has been crisscrossing the Senegalese capital meeting with stakeholders in a move to facilitate dialogue between the government and the opposition.

"At the last count, the mission has met with at least four opposition leaders, among others," a source close to the mission told PANA.

On arrival in Dakar in the early hours of Wednesday, Obasanjo reportedly said his mission was not to mediate but to observe the election, which will feature incumbent President Abdoulaye Wade against 13 opposition candidates.

However, PANA reports that ECOWAS leaders who endorsed the Joint Mission at their 40th Summit in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, last week, were unambiguous in saying the mission was meant to facilitate dialogue and ensure that the elections were held in a peaceful atmosphere.

Obasanjo is not a member of the 150-member ECOWAS Observer Mission to the election, hence his role is largely mediatory.

Senegal, a bastion of stability in a volatile region, has been in turmoil since January, when the Constitutional Council validated President Wade's candidacy for a third term.

Protests by the opposition, backed by the Civil Society, have led to clashes with the security agencies in which over a dozen people have been killed across the country.

The opposition has appealed to the international community to prevail on President Wade not to contest on Sunday, saying doing so will be against the country's Constitution.

President Wade has rejected such calls and dismissed opposition protests as 'temper tantrums'.
-0- PANA SEG/VAO 22Feb2012