Senegal court clears jailed opposition head Sonko for presidential run

AFP | A Senegalese judge on Thursday ordered that jailed opposition leader Ousmane Sonko be reinstated on the electoral roll, clearing the way for him to stand in next year’s presidential election.

Sonko was struck off Senegal’s electoral register after being sentenced in June to two years’ imprisonment for morally corrupting a young person.

The 49-year-old political thorn in President Macky Sall’s side finished third in the 2019 presidential election. But his deregistration from the electoral lists rendered him ineligible to take part in the February polls.

Sonko has been at the center of a stand-off with the state that has lasted more than 2 years and sparked several episodes of unrest.

In ordering Sonko’s reinstatement, the judge in the capital Dakar confirmed a ruling in October by a court in Ziguinchor, the southern city where Sonko is mayor.

Last month, the nation’s top court had disagreed with that regional court ruling. But it nevertheless decided that Sonko’s case should go back to the Dakar court.

Sonko now has until December 26 to present his candidacy and obtain the necessary sponsorships.

Sonko is particularly popular among the under 20-year-olds, who make up half the population, striking a chord with his pan-Africanist rhetoric and tough stance on former colonial power France.