Perhaps Africa’s most famous musician, Youssou N’dour, has announced he will run for president of Senegal in the poll scheduled for late February. N’dour said he is answering a call by the people of his country to run for its highest office, because they are tired of traditional politics in the West African country.
“For years the people have asked me [to run], for years they have searched... for a new model of government," he said. "I have proven myself in the private sector. I have proven myself in 30 years of working with the people.”
N’dour added Senegal’s current president, Abdoulaye Wade, is not eligible for the third term that he is currently seeking.
“Abdoulaye Wade does not have the right to run. His run is [unconstitutional],” said N’dour.
N’dour has served as a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador and helped spearhead a campaign to fight malaria in his home country. Despite having no national political experience, the singer said his work in the international community and decades of campaigning for social issues proves he has what it takes to lead the West African country.
N’dour is running under his party “Fekk Maci Boole,” which means “I am a part of this, so I must act,” in the Senegalese Wolof language. According to an N’dour spokesman, N’dour’s politics are social-democratic principles.
Senegal's Constitutional Court has yet to rule on his eligibility.