Senegal's N'Dour plans musical comeback if Wade loses
Dakar, 02 Mar – (ANA) - Senegal's Youssou N'Dour said yesterday he would re-launch his musical career with a victory concert for Macky Sall if the presidential challenger beats incumbent Abdoulaye Wade in an election run-off this month. The Grammy-winning N'Dour, co-writer of the 1994 hit single "7 Seconds", has been one of the most vocal critics of Wade's controversial decision to run for a third term as head of the West African state. Declaring his support for Sall, N'Dour said he would break his silence with a concert on April 4, Senegal's Independence Day, if Sall beats his octogenarian opponent. N'Dour, who has featured in the U.S. and European charts and won a gold-plated Grammy for his 2004 album "Egypt", launched a bid to run for president himself, but his application was rejected by the country's top legal body on a technicality. A successful businessman with his own newspaper, television and radio channel, N'Dour heads up his own grassroots citizen movement and is a long-time critic of Wade. The singer was often spotted taking part in protests in central Dakar in February, many of which descended into clashes between rock-throwing demonstrators and police firing tear gas. Wade's decision to run for a third presidential term enraged his opponents who accused him of flouting the constitution which they said limited presidential terms to just two mandates. But Wade said his first term, which started in 2000, pre-dated those rules and so did not count. (ANA)
FA/ANA/02 March 2012-------