Senegalese opposition leader, Ousmane Sonko, has urged his followers to engage in peaceful protests after authorities cancelled a rally intended to formalise his candidacy for the impending presidential elections.
On Thursday, Sonko was unanimously selected as the candidate of the PASTEF-Patriots party for the 25th February 2024 presidential elections, according to a party announcement released to AFP.
This development occurs amidst ongoing doubts over Sonko’s eligibility due to past criminal convictions and jail terms.
The Governor of Dakar declared that the proposed nomination rally, initially planned for Saturday at a stadium on the city’s fringe, had been prohibited, citing a “risk of disturbing public order”.
In response, Sonko assured his followers that an alternative date would be selected, and encouraged a “symphony of saucepans, horns and firecrackers” on Saturday evening from 8:30 to 9:00 pm (2030 to 2100 GMT) as a peaceful means to voice their discontent and to urge the incumbent President Macky Sall “to leave office peacefully”.
Sonko, confined to his residence in Dakar by security forces since late May, appealed to his supporters to don red as a sign of protest. The outspoken opposition figure has amassed a fervent following among Senegal’s disenfranchised youth, launching a powerful campaign against President Sall, whom he labels a corrupt aspiring autocrat.
In a late Friday address, delivered in Wolof and French on his party’s channel, Sonko accused President Sall of endeavouring to “wipe out PASTEF and obstruct me from being a presidential candidate”.
He previously warned of an “indescribable chaos” if he were barred from contesting the presidential seat. His convictions in May and June ignited lethal altercations between his supporters and security forces, resulting in the most significant upheaval Senegal has experienced in years.
Despite legal experts and his own legal team’s opinion that his conviction renders him ineligible, Sonko insisted that he remains a valid candidate for the 2024 elections. On Friday, PASTEF announced that Sonko “retains his political and civil rights in their entirety”.
These tensions were further inflamed by speculations that President Sall would seek re-election, contravening constitutional limits. However, in a surprising move, Sall announced on 3rd July that he would not be running again next year.
Adding another twist to this saga, Senegalese prosecutors on Friday disclosed that they had filed an international arrest warrant for Juan Branco, one of Sonko’s lawyers, alleging “crimes and offences” linked with the previous month’s unrest. Branco had previously lodged a criminal complaint against Sall in France for alleged “crimes against humanity” and had sought an investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.
Reacting to this development, Senegalese Foreign Minister Aissata Tall Sall dismissed the move as “childish and puerile” and not meeting the standards necessary for legal examination.
In a show of solidarity with his embattled legal counsel, Sonko offered Branco his “unwavering support” during an address to his followers on Friday.
Image Credit: Ousmane Sonko/Twitter
