Dakar — It was a very long wait but the decision of the Constitutional Court was never doubted: President Abdoulaye Wade can run for the highest office in the land. Out on the streets the mood is grim.

Friday evening, Dakar, Senegal. Stones are raining down on the motorway, bringing the traffic to a crawl. Those who can, turn their cars around and drive off in the opposite direction. Others are too late and try to negotiate safe passage into one of the smaller streets that feed into the motorway.

Groups of youths are throwing car tyres onto the asphalt. Sticks, cardboard, rubbish, a little fuel and a match. The fires are lighting up the nightly sky and thick ink-black smoke rises from the burning barricades.

Presidential candidates

Just an hour earlier, the Constitutional Court finally published the list of thirteen presidential candidates who can participate in the elections of February 26. The names of those who have been making the headlines are all included.

President Abdoulaye Wade is on the list, as are two of his former lieutenants, Macky Sall and Idrissa Seck, now running against him. Also included are veteran politicians Mustapha Niasse and Tanor Dieng. All of them are considered possible winners.

Youssou N'Dour

There is one name missing: Youssou N'Dour, Senegal's most successful musician and media entrepreneur. "They are frightened of me," he says in a first reaction. He can and will appeal, but the Constitutional Court does not have a history of reversing its decisions.

For the rioters there is only one focal point: the incumbent president. Youths are dancing around the brightly burning car tyres and shout the two slogans that are the opposition's signature tune, at the top of their voices: "Wade degaaage (Wade, get out)!!! Y'en a maaaaaarre (We're fed up)!!!" Traffic has come to a complete stop. For a while, the young men from the suburbs reign supreme.

Third term

At issue: President Wade's wish to stay in power for a third term. It is considered illegal by the opposition, since the constitution only allows two terms in office. Wade and his party argue that a new constitution was adopted after he was elected and that his efforts to seek a new mandate are, therefore, within the law.

The Constitutional Court agrees, although the exact reasons behind its decision are still unclear. The president, meanwhile, is crowing. "I can even legally stand in 2019," he quipped on Friday evening.

Insensitive and arrogant

And that is where the anger has its focal point: the president's personal style, considered insensitive and arrogant. He does not listen; all he does is blow his own trumpet. "Let God strike those with blindness who cannot see my accomplishments," he said earlier this month at a meeting with religious leaders.

Freedom of speech

Fine, say his detractors, let's take a closer look. Yes, the country has a free market system, but how many Senegalese have actually benefited from the open economy? Yes, there is freedom of speech, but what's the use when you have a head of state who thinks he knows everything? Yes, the capital now has an excellent motorway system, but what does that bring for those who are unemployed and live in homes without proper drainage and erratic electricity supply?

Teargas

The tyres are still burning when the pickup trucks with the uniformed men arrive. Shots are heard and a little later, a distinct smell rapidly envelops rioters and bystanders. Eyes start burning, noses start running. Teargas is not used sparingly on these occasions and it is enough to disperse the crowd.

A day of shame

The anger is running deep. "A day of shame," says a civil society leader when asked for a reaction to the day's events by a local radio station. Later that night, the same station reports that one policeman has died in clashes in the capital and that a crew of the state television broadcaster has been assaulted in another main town, Kaolack. There will be more of this, as the most polarised election campaign in Senegal's history begins in earnest, next week.