Senegal, once a beacon of democracy in the troubled West African region, has been plagued by violent demonstrations against incumbent president Abdoulaye Wade in the lead up to Sunday's presidential election, the European Pressphoto Agency reports.

The country's top judges have ruled in favour of Wade's bid to seek a third term in office and have barred the hugely popular music star Youssou Ndour from standing in the election.

See more images of the protests on PhotoBlog and read more about the country's political malaise.