Protesters defied a government banWednesday and made their way to a square only blocks from thepresidential palace, the closest that the opposition movement has come to the seat of power in two weeks of demonstrations ahead of next week’s election.Senegalese police wearing helmets and fiberglass shields fired volleys of tear gas. The demonstrators dispersed, running into shops and across the dry lawn of the Place de l’Independance.The country’s opposition had vowed to march on the palace in protest over 85-year-old President Abdoulaye Wade’s bid for a third term in the Feb. 26 ballot. Besides his age, many are angered by what they see as a violation of the constitution, because the electoral code was revised after Wade came to office to impose a two-term maximum.A 49-year-old woman in a violet robe and matching head scarf fainted from the tear gas. The employees of a travel agency on the square helped her inside, then pulled down the security gate to watch as police chased protesters."I voted for Wade in 2000. I voted for him in 2007. I even came out of my house to run after his caravan,” said the woman, who asked not to be named because she works for the government and fears for her job. "But I’ve had enough. He’s too old to govern. Like all old men he is becoming senile.”