Senegal's constitutional referendum set for January 7

DAKAR, Senegal (Reuters) -- Senegal will hold a referendum on its proposed new constitution on January 7, the government said in a statement on Friday.

President Abdoulaye Wade had originally called the referendum on the new constitution for November 27. It was later postponed until December 10 and then put back again.

Wade, of the West African country's Democratic Party, won a presidential election last March, ending the 40-year unbroken rule of the Socialist Party.

He has promised to introduce a new constitution limiting the powers of the president and strengthening the position of the prime minister and the government, which would be answerable to parliament.

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