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A West African court set November 17 as the date for its decision on the reinstatement of Senegalese opposition figure Ousmane Sonko on the electoral rolls. His candidacy for the 2024 presidential election depends on this decision.
A West African court set November 17 as the date for its decision on the reinstatement of Senegalese opposition figure Ousmane Sonko on the electoral rolls. His candidacy for the 2024 presidential election depends on this decision.
Sonko, through his lawyer, has referred the matter to the Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas). The major prayer of Sonko is his reinstatement on the electoral rolls. His name was removed from the electoral rolls following his conviction in a vice case.
On October 12, a judge in Ziguinchor southern Senegal overturned this disbarment, which prevented Mr. Sonko, who came third in the 2019 presidential election, from standing as a candidate in the February 25, 2024 ballot. The Ministry of the Interior had refused to issue Sonko with the official forms that would enable him to collect sponsorships, a necessary step in filing his candidacy. The Ministry argues that the judge’s decision is not final and that the State has lodged an appeal. The Supreme Court is due to examine this appeal on November 17.
However, on October 31, the National Electoral Commission, a body in charge of overseeing the electoral process, asked the General Directorate of Elections (DGE), which reports to the Ministry of the Interior, to reinstate Sonko on the lists and issue him with the sponsorship files. On the same day, the DGE refused to do so.
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Sonko, 49, was convicted on June 1 of debauching a minor and sentenced to two years’ imprisonment. Having refused to appear at the trial, which he denounced as a plot to keep him out of the election, he was sentenced in absentia. He was imprisoned at the end of July on other charges, including calling for insurrection, criminal association in connection with a terrorist enterprise, and undermining state security. In mid-October, he announced a new hunger strike.
