EU calls for dialogue in Senegal's poll conflict

(BRUSSELS) - The European Union on Tuesday condemned violence in Senegal and urged the government and opposition to hold talks, but kept quiet on a controversial bid for re-election by President Abdoulaye Wade.

Through her spokesman, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said that "the EU condemns in the strongest terms all acts of violence and expresses its sympathy to the family of the victims.

"The EU calls on all parties to show restraint and opt for dialogue in the interest of peaceful, free and fair elections, which need to reflect the will of the Senegalese people" at the polls in February.

Three people were killed and several injured in the capital Dakar and at Podor in the north in rioting that broke out after the Constitutional Court ruled on January 27 that Wade, 85, can stand for re-election, under successive constitutions.

The opposition and civil society movements in the west African country, long considered one of the most stable democracies on the continent, have launched a campaign of popular resistance to force Wade to step aside after almost 12 years in power.

The EU's position is well behind that of the United States, which on Monday urged Wade to allow power to pass "to the next generation".

"While we respect the process... our message to him remains the same: that the statesmanly-like thing to do would be to cede to the next generation," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told journalists.