Youssou N'Dour: 'the presidency is not something you go to school for.' Photograph: Denis Charlet/AFP/Getty Images
World music icon Youssou Ndour says he plans to run in Senegal's presidential election next month, challenging an 85-year-old incumbent whose plans to seek a third term have sparked violent protests.
Ndour, who made the announcement late Monday on his private radio and TV stations, joins some 20 other candidates already running against President Abdoulaye Wade.
While the Grammy-winning artist sells out concert venues worldwide and is the West African country's most famous cultural export, his prospects with Senegalese voters remain unclear.
The election is less than two months away, and the incumbent president has been in power for more than a decade.
"For a very long time, many Senegalese of different backgrounds have called for my candidacy for the presidency next February," Ndour said. "I've listened, I've heard and I am responding favorably to their request. I am a candidate. It's a supreme patriotic duty, the best I can give of myself. I am the alternative to the current leadership in place in the country." - N'dour said in a broadcast.
Comments
Post a Comment