Dakar - Riot police cordoned off streets in Dakar on Saturday after a night of violent riots that erupted when a court cleared octogenarian President Abdoulaye Wade to seek a third term and protesters vowed to force him from power.

Access to the presidential palace downtown was blocked in the seaside capital as life appeared to return to normal after a night of what local newspapers dubbed “fire and blood” in which rioters killed one policeman.

The Violence erupted late Friday after the west African nation's Constitutional Council gave Wade, 85, the green light to run in February 26 polls, sparking anger among opponents who accuse him of fiddling with the constitution.

The five-judge council unveiled a list of 14 contenders but rejected the candidacy of music icon Youssou Ndour, who warned of rising tension in the country and vowed to challenge his disqualification.

While the international community appealed for calm in one of Africa's most stable democracies, following the council decision violence spread through the seaside capital, where a rally had gathered during the day.

Rioters engaged in running battles with police, overturning and torching cars, setting alight tyres and shops along the city's main arteries.

“Wade rejoices, the country burns,” read the headline of the Walfadjiri newspaper while le Quotidien declared: “Wade burns Senegal.”

Local media reported rioting in other main cities around the country.

Amid the resulting unrest, Wade told his opponents to stop throwing “temper tantrums”.

The June 23 Movement of opposition against Wade's candidacy, which called Friday's rally, appealed to Senegalese to march on the presidential palace in downtown Dakar to “remove Wade who is squatting there.”

Ndour, who shocked the music world when he announced this month he was quitting singing for politics, was left off the list with the council saying thousands of signatures he provided could not be verified. A minimum of 10,000 were needed.

The singer warned in an interview with France 3 television that the approval of Wade's bid “is going to create tension.”

“The opposition in its great majority does not support any fiddling with the constitution,” said the singer, adding the Senegalese people were “tired” of politicians flouting the law.

The ruling seals months of speculation over the interpretation of the constitution on presidential mandates.

Wade was first elected in 2000 for a seven-year mandate, and re-elected in 2007 under a new constitution for a five-year mandate.

He again revised the text in 2008, reverting to a seven-year mandate, renewable once.

Wade argues that the law does not apply retroactively and that he is allowed to run again.

The Constitutional Council approved 13 other candidates including three ex-prime ministers, Idrissa Seck, Macky Sall and Moustapha Niasse, and main opposition leader Ousmane Tanor Dieng.

Rights activists have warned against a repetition of violent riots in June last year, and clashes between rival parties in December that left one person dead.

Amnesty International has warned the “potential for destabilisation is huge”, and urged political leaders to make sure their supporters did not resort to violence.

On Friday, the 15-nation Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) appealed for calm and restraint in a statement expressing “serious concern for the rising tensions among political parties and citizens.”

US deputy assistant secretary of state for African affairs, William Fitzgerald, said on Monday that Wade's bid to stay in office was “regrettable”.

Senegal has long been seen as a good example of democracy in Africa, with previous leaders Leopold Sedar Senghor and Abdou Diouf peacefully handing over power.

Unlike many countries in the region, Senegal has never experienced a military coup. - Sapa-AFP