Senegal opposition calls for protests over threat to bar Ousmane Sonko from vote
Dakar, Senegal (AFP):
Senegal’s opposition coalition said Tuesday it would stage rallies over a threat to bar one of its leaders, Ousmane Sonko, from presidential elections after he was convicted in a defamation case.
Sonko was on Monday handed a six-month suspended term that could jeopardise his bid for the 2024 elections.
His possible elimination would significantly alter the contest, and could also lead to violence from his supporters.
Sonko claims the judiciary is being used to sideline him from the vote.
“The people have to mobilise to support Ousmane Sonko in this fight,” Khalifa Sall, one of the coalition chiefs, told a press conference on Tuesday.
He joined other heads of the Yewwi Askan Wi alliance in urging followers to turn out in force for an already-scheduled rally this Friday, and for another protest a week later, on May 19.
Senegal is traditionally a beacon of stability in troubled West Africa, but in recent years has been buffeted by turbulence that has at times turned deadly.
Sonko, 48, came third in the 2019 election against incumbent Macky Sall, and intends to stand again next year.
But his candidacy has been clouded by Monday’s conviction, which saw an appeal court increase a sentence of two months suspended, handed down in March, for defaming Tourism Minister Mame Mbaye Niangtou.
The court also ordered Sonko to pay 200 million CFA francs (around $330,000) in damages to Niang.
The opposition figure has not issued any public statement since Monday.
Sonko is also facing trial later this month for alleged rape and death threats over a complaint filed by an employee at a beauty salon where he went for a massage.
He says he is the victim of a government plot to scupper his candidacy.
The government has denied the accusation.
In 2021, the rape charge against him helped trigger riots that left at least 12 people dead.
The presidential party accuses Sonko of seeking to paralyse the country and of drumming up anger on the streets in a bid to escape justice.
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