In Senegal President Abdoulaye Wade has announced that he intends to run for re-election in 2012. The announcement is something of a surprise because the election is still a while off, but also because President Wade will be nearly 86 at the time of the election.

For Jeune Afrique, the logic behind the annnouncement is that it forces the incumbent party to unite behind Wade. Currently, the party is split into different factions, one of which supports President’s Wade’s son, Karim Wade. In addition, an historic leader of the PDS and former presidential adviser, Idrissa Seck, has recently been rehabilitated by President Wade. While this has helped to reconcile certain forces, it has also been the source of new tensions.

Last month President Wade announced the transformation of the incumbent PDS party (Parti démocratique sénégalais – Senegalese Democratic Party) into the PDSL (Parti démocratique sénégalais libéral – Liberal Senegalese Democratic Party). This was an attempt to try to restore the incumbent regime’s fortunes after the disappointing local elections results earlier this year, but the move can also be seen as part of the ongoing machinations regarding the party’s presidential candidate in 2012. My guess is that this will not be last post on this topic.