In 1970, Senghor reinstated the post of prime minister, giving it to Diouf, his protégé. Senghor trusted Diouf, who had administrative experience but no independent power base. In 1985, opposing parties tried to form a coalition. It was broken up because the national constitution forbade coalitions. Also in 1985,
Abdoulaye Wade, Diouf's main political opponent, was temporarily arrested for unlawful demonstration. In February 1988, elections were held again. Diouf won 72.3 percent of the vote to Wade's 25.8 percent, and opposing parties alleged
electoral fraud. Disturbances followed, and Diouf declared a state of emergency, detaining Wade again until May of that year.
Senegambia Under Diouf, Senegal agreed to form a confederation called
Senegambia with neighboring
Gambia on 12 December 1981; this union took place on 1 February 1982. In April 1989, the
Mauritania-Senegal Border War developed, leading to an outbreak of ethnic violence and the severing of diplomatic relations with
Mauritania. As the region destabilized, Senegambia was dissolved.
Response to AIDS In 1986, Diouf began an anti-
AIDS program in Senegal before the virus was able to take off in earnest. He used the media and schools to promote safe-sex messages and required prostitutes to be registered. He also encouraged civic organizations and both
Christian and
Muslim religious leaders to raise awareness about AIDS. The result was that while AIDS was decimating
much of Africa, the infection rate for Senegal stayed below 2 percent.
1993 and 2000 elections and
Barbara Bush host Abdou and
Elizabeth Diouf at the White House, 1991 Diouf was reelected in February 1993 with 58% of the vote to a 7-year term; presidential term lengths had been extended by two years in 1991. In the first round of the 2000 elections, on 27 February, he took 41.3% of the vote against 30.1% for the long-time opposition leader
Abdoulaye Wade. Still, in the second round on 19 March, he received only 41.5% against 58.5% for Wade. ==Socialist Party leadership==