2024-01-01 07:13:46
Imprisoned Senegalese opponent Ousmane Sonko was sworn in as a candidate for the 2024 presidential election on Sunday, December 31, in a private place and behind closed doors, after the public meeting planned for Saturday was banned, according to an official from his camp and television images.
The country’s president, Macky Sall, also declared on Sunday, in his end-of-year message, that he would “a black” that the presidential election of February 25, 2024 “takes place, like the previous ones, peacefully and in the best organizational conditions”. Elected in 2012 for seven years and re-elected in 2019 for five years, he announced in July that he would not run again in 2024.
In prison since the end of July
Mr. Sonko is the central figure in a standoff, which has lasted for more than two years, with the State, which has given rise to several episodes of deadly unrest. After the administration’s refusal to deliver the necessary documents to Mr. Sonko, his lawyers announced their intention to submit his candidacy to the Constitutional Council, saying “trust justice” faced with a State seeking, according to them, to “discard” their polling client.
Found guilty on June 1 of debauchery of a minor, Mr. Sonko was sentenced to two years in prison. Having failed to appear at trial, he was convicted in absentia. The 49-year-old opponent has been imprisoned since the end of July on other charges, including calling for insurrection. He claims that these cases and all those in which he has been implicated are plots aimed at removing him from the presidential election.
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In mid-December, a judge relaunched his candidacy by ordering his re-registration on the electoral lists, confirming a decision rendered in October by the Ziguinchor court (South), which had been overturned by the Supreme Court. The state filed an appeal against this decision in mid-December.
More than 90 applications have been submitted to the Constitutional Council, which must announce on January 20 the list of successful contenders.
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