Dakar , Senegal ( CNN ) -- Senegal remained tense Wednesday following days of violent protests over a court decision that allows the incumbent president to run for a third term . President Abdoulaye Wade , 85 , has been in office since 2000 . Wade plans to run for re-election this year despite a constitutional mandate that limits presidents to two terms . A court ruled in his favor last week after the incumbent argued he is exempt because he took office before the term limit was put into place . Throngs took to the streets in the West African nation this week to protest the Friday ruling , with protesters clashing with police in the capital Tuesday . In the capital of Dakar , an opposition group demonstration turned violent Tuesday night when a speaker called for protesters to march to the presidential palace . One protester died and dozens were injured , state media reported . Angry mobs burned tires and hurled stones at the police , who responded with tear gas and advanced in armored vehicles . Footage on local news stations showed a man run over by an armored car as he tried to run away from the police . A government official confirmed a protester died , but denied state forces were responsible , according to the state-run APS news agency . ''We ( police ) were professionals to the end . The police never fired live ammunition at the demonstrators . People say it is the police vehicle which struck the young man who died : it is completely wrong . This is not true , '' said Arona Sy , the Dakar police commissioner . Sy said authorities have checked all police cars dispatched to the protests . `` There is no trace of blood in the vehicle , '' Sy said . Senegal 's opposition organized the rally to protest the ruling allowing Wade to run for a third term and call for the release of its leader and dozens of others arrested in the weekend rioting that followed the ruling . The group is also demanding that Senegal 's highest court , the constitutional council , allow three independent candidates , including Grammy-winning musician Youssou N'Dour , to seek the presidency . The court rejected their candidacies last week in the same ruling that granted Wade and 13 others spots on the February ballot . It ruled that the three rejected candidates failed to gather 10,000 valid signatures . The June 23 Movement , or M23 , is named after the date of protests last summer that forced Wade to withdraw a constitutional amendment that would almost guarantee his victory in the February 26 election . West Africa has a history of political strife , but Senegal has largely maintained peace and has never experienced a military coup . CNN 's Umaro Djau and journalist Nick Loomis contributed to this report .
13 is killed Tuesday as Senegal protest turns violent , state media says . Throngs take to the streets Tuesday to protest a court decision . Protests started after a ruling allowed the elderly president to run for a third term . Dakar has largely remained peaceful in a region rocked by coups and political strife .