Campaigns ahead of Senegal's Presidential election officially end at midnight on Friday.
I took this picture (below) of people gathering at the headquarters of the ruling Parti Democratique Senegalais (PDS) on Friday evening for a final rally to back incumbent President Abdoulaye Wade ahead of the poll slated for Sunday, 26 February.
But it has been a tense few weeks since the country's Constitutional Council accepted Wade's bid to run for another term.
Scenes of youths setting tyres on fire, smashing car windows, barricading roads and pelting police with rocks while the police retaliate with teargas, rubber bullets and rocks, have raised fears of growing instability in West Africa's most peaceful country.
Wade's opponents and civil society and youth movements argue that his bid to run for President is unconstitutional. The country's constitution since 2001 set a two-term limit.
President Wade and his supporters argue that this does not apply to him because he came to power in 2000 based on the previous constitution which had no limits. In other words, this term he is seeking would be his second under the new rules.
There is a good Reuters preview of the election here, a Reuters PENPIX that presents Wade and his main rivals here, and a profile of Senegal here.You could also read a piece in TrustLaw on calls for peace and dialogue by some Senegalese women's groups here.
For videos of some of the rioting seen these past weeks check out - CarRapide.com. Global Voices also put together a collection of pictures and videos here. And the twitter hashtags: #sunu2012 and #kebetu are quite useful to follow the events.
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