Senegal's Abdoulaye Wade quits parliament [The Morning Call]

Former Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade has resigned as a member of the National Assembly ahead of its first sitting on Thursday.

91-year-old Wade won the seat in the July 30 legislative elections under the Senegalese Democratic Party and a coalition of other parties.

He announced his resignation in a letter published by local media on Monday saying he “joined the contest only to support the party and the coalition”.

Wade’s party won only 19 seats against the ruling party’s 125 seats in the 195-seat legislature. He returned to the country from his base in France three weeks before the polls in July for the campaign.

He was expected to chair the inauguration of the legislature on Thursday as the Dean of the Assembly. Abdoulaye Wade was President of Senegal from 2000 to 2012.