Senegal: Opposition leader’s hope of standing for 2024 election dashed in latest court ruling

Senegal’s Supreme Court on Friday annulled the ruling that had put detained political opponent Ousmane Sonko,back in the 2024 presidential race. The court ruled that the case would start all over. The lawyers of the opposition politician have condemned the ruling while voicing their disappointment…

The chances of the jailed senegalese opposition leader, Ousmane Sonko to stand for the next presidential election suffered a setback after the Supreme Court overturned a lower court’s decision ordering his reinstatement in the voter roll.

Mr Sonko has been facing a number of court cases in the last 48 months on charges ranging from libel to rape, which he denies.

He was imprisoned by the Senegalese authorities in July for instigating uprisings, his party was dissolved, and he was taken off the electoral roll, ruling him out of the February 2024 race.

A court had earlier ruled that Sonko should be reinstated in the voter roll and sponsorship sheets for the presidential election be handed to him, creating an opportunity for him to run in the poll.

Following an appeal by the Senegalese authorities, the Supreme Court annulled the ruling that gave Sonko a chance to stand for the race, asking for the case to be decided all over by a court of appeal in Dakar, the capital.

Reacting to the ruling, one of Mr Sonko’s lawyers stressed that the decision was disappointing.

Sonko, who came in third place in the country’s previous presidential election, was widely regarded as the biggest rival to President Macky Sall’s ruling party.

Sall finally opted not to run for a third term after Sonko’s followers started months of deadly protests as they accused the incumbent president of politically motivating the trials against their leader.

Sonko has gone on days of hunger strikes in protest and has been admitted to hospital on different occasions.