Senegal’s leading opposition politician could be disqualified from next year’s presidential election after a court sentenced him to a six-month suspended prison sentence after a conviction for libel.
(Bloomberg) — Senegal’s leading opposition politician could be disqualified from next year’s presidential election after a court sentenced him to a six-month suspended prison sentence after a conviction for libel.
Ousmane Sonko has been widely seen as the most prominent challenger to President Macky Sall, whose second term in office ends in 2024.
The 48-year-old former tax inspector was re-sentenced Monday for accusing Tourism Minister Mame Mbaye Niang of embezzlement during a televised statement last year.
Senegal’s state prosecutor won an appeal to stiffen a previous two-month suspended prison sentence that would have allowed Sonko to participate in the February ballot. The court also ordered the leader of the Pastef-Les Patriotes opposition to pay 200 million CFA francs ($336,000) in damages.
The decision can still be appealed, his lawyer Ousseynou Fall said by phone. “I’ll discuss all the options with my client,” he said.
Sonko’s popularity has swelled since 2019 when he came third in presidential elections with just 16% of votes. Sall, 61, secured his reelection with 58% and his closest rival at the time, Idrissa Seck, with 21% of votes, has since joined his administration.
Many young Senegalese now see Sonko as the strongest rival to Sall who has argued that a constitutional amendment in 2016 allows him to run for another five-year mandate. Senegal’s constitution limits the presidential mandate to two consecutive terms.
Last month, more than 100 Senegalese political and civil society groups launched a joint coalition against Sall’s possible re-election bid, describing it as an “illegal and illegitimate” third term.
Meanwhile, Sonko still faces a separate case in which he is accused of raping an employee at a beauty salon in a trial that resumes on May 16. He has denied wrongdoing, maintaining that the charges are politically motivated, even as his frequent court appearances have sparked violent protests.
(Updates with previous protests from penultimate paragraph)
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