Second Round Of Ballot In The Offing In Senegal Second Round Of Ballot In The Offing In Senegal February 29, 2000 DAKAR, Senegal (PANA) - As provisional results indicate that no candidate won the 51 percent majority to clinch the Senegalese presidency outright, there is now the possibility of a second ballot involving two leading candidates. The run-off will possibly pit the incumbent President Abdou Diouf of the ruling Socialist Party and candidate Abdoulaye Wade of the "Coalition Alternance 2000." According to the provisional results of Sunday's election, the leading candidates are Diouf, Wade and Moustapha Niasse, respectively, who would be the determinant factors in the second round. Niasse is candidate of the Alliance of the Forces of Progress. According to reports published Tuesday by the local newspapers, Diouf won in 14 districts while Wade emerged victorious in seven and Niasse in two out of the 24 districts whose partial results have been announced. Senegal has 30 districts The papers indicated that Wade and Niasse were close to Diouf's score in the 14 disttricts he won. Wade won some strongholds of the Socialist Party in urban and sub-urban areas including Pikine on the outskirts of Dakar, while he got 60 percent of the votes in Ziguinchor, southern Senegal, and Thies, according to the reports. Niasse won in his home region of Kaolack, formerly a stronghold of the Socialist party and also obtained good results in Dakar and Ziguinchor. On Monday, the Socialist party Monday told a press conference that it was ready to negotiate with the opposition in the second round. In a related development, Wade said Monday that the coalition will discuss with its allies of the Front for the Fairness of the Election, which include scores of political parties. Niasse ruled out any possibility of alliance with Diouf in a second round. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 2000 Panafrican News Agency. All Rights Reserved.