Pre-election tensions heighten in Dakar

Police in riot gear stand guard at the site of an unauthorized anti-government protest in central Dakar, Senegal Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2012. Thousands of supporters turned out to see Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade Wednesday as he held rallies in the downtrodden Pikine and Guediawaye suburbs. Daily protests have rocked the capital after the opposition vowed to render the country ungovernable if 85-year-old Wade runs for a third term in Sunday's elections.(AP Photo/Tanya Bindra)
Police in riot gear stand guard at the site of an unauthorized anti-government protest in central Dakar, Senegal Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2012. Thousands of supporters turned out to see Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade Wednesday as he held rallies in the downtrodden Pikine and Guediawaye suburbs. Daily protests have rocked the capital after the opposition vowed to render the country ungovernable if 85-year-old Wade runs for a third term in Sunday's elections.(AP Photo/Tanya Bindra)

Dakar braces for more protests just days before presidential polls in which President Abdoulaye Wade is seeking a highly disputed third term which has upset one of Africa's most stable nations.