The Senegalese government and authorities are preventing opposition leader Ousmane Sonko from participating in the election despite court orders.
According to media reports, Sonko’s legal team has been denied access to the General Directorate of Elections to collect the sponsorship forms necessary for the jailed opposition leader’s candidacy.
A Senegalese court had given a clear decision to reinstate opposition leader Ousmane Sonko on the electoral list. But the government is not obeying the court’s order and president Macky Sall has kept Sonko as a political prisoner during the elections. Candidates for the February 25 election have until December 26 to submit their applications to the Constitutional Council, which is responsible for verifying and validating candidacies.
Sonko is a popular politician and could potentially defeat President Macky Sall in the upcoming elections.
The authorities have framed various cases against him and he has been in jail for the past two years. He is denying the cases framed against him and saying that they are politically motivated.
On the arrest of Sonko, protests continue to take place across the country. Due to these protests, 20 people have been killed so far.
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