Senegal delays parliamentary polls for second time

DAKAR, Jan 12 (Reuters) Senegal postponed legislative elections for the second time today after the West African country's highest court overruled a presidential decree changing the way in which parliamentary seats were shared out.

The former French colony's constitutional court upheld an opposition appeal to a decree from President Abdoulaye Wade which had altered the number of representatives in parliament for each of the country's regions.

The decision meant the legislative elections, which were due to have been held on Feb. 25, would have to be pushed back to a date to be set later, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

The polls had originally been set for May 2006, but Wade pushed them back in 2005 after Senegal's worst rains in decades destroyed thousands of homes. He said the postponement would save money which could be used to aid flood victims.

The opposition said that delay was anti-constitutional and accused him of trying to buy time because he feared he would lose his parliamentary majority in the polls.

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