Dakar , Senegal ( CNN ) -- Senegalese police clashed Friday night with protesters , firing tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse them from downtown Dakar , where protests have been banned . The unrest was part of the opposition against the candidacy of President Abdoulaye Wade ahead of February 26 elections . After Friday prayers in the Muslim-majority country , police blocked protesters from reaching the capital 's Place de l'Independence , the demonstration 's planned location . Confrontations occurred less than a mile from the Presidential Palace , in the city 's commercial center . At least four people have died in protests in Senegal since January 27 , when the country 's highest court , the Constitutional Council , cleared the 85-year-old president to run for a third term , government officials have said . The opposition says that the court was compromised and the constitution limits presidents to two terms . He has been in office since 2000 . A court ruled in his favor last month after the incumbent argued that he is exempt because he took office before the term limit was put in place . Amadou Sow , a 38-year-old security guard , went downtown on his day off to protest Wade 's candidacy and to exercise his right to protest in one of Africa 's most stable democracies . `` We 're in an electoral campaign and every citizen is free to go where he wants , '' Sow said . `` We have come here to protest peacefully , but the police have prevented us from coming and that 's not normal . '' Others say that protests have been banned downtown because they disturb the workday in the city 's economic hub . `` I ca n't understand the protests here , '' said Boubacar Sow , 27 , who works in the Dakar 's large informal sector and is not related to Amadou . `` Because , me , I come here to work , to earn money , and to return home , but not to protest . I work here . `` We are here to protest Wade , '' said Abdoulaye Diouf , a 22-year-old student . `` We dont want him anymore . We are fed up `` Some protesters are also demanding that the Constitutional Council allow three independent candidates , including Grammy-winning musician Youssou N'Dour , to seek the presidency . The court rejected their candidacies last month in the same ruling that granted Wade and 13 others spots on the February ballot . It ruled that the three rejected candidates had failed to gather 10,000 valid signatures . The opposition June 23 Movement , or M23 , is named after the date of protests last summer that forced Wade to withdraw a constitutional amendment that would have nearly guaranteed his victory in this month 's election . West Africa has a history of political strife , but Senegal has largely maintained peace and has never experienced a military coup .
Protests are banned in downtown Dakar . The opposition does not allow the president to run for a third term . At least four people have died in office since February last .