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Tag: Ousmane Sonko

  • Senegal rejects Ousmane Sonko’s re-registration on electoral rolls

    Senegal rejects Ousmane Sonko’s re-registration on electoral rolls

    Senegal’s Ministry of the Interior has declined the request of the Autonomous National Electoral Commission (Cena) to reinstate opposition politician Ousmane Sonko on the electoral roll and provide essential candidacy documents for the 2024 presidential election.

    In a response to Cena’s letter, the Directorate General of Elections (DGE) stated that it lacks the jurisdiction to act on the electoral roll but did not specify who holds that authority.

    Cena had previously written to DGE, urging that Mr. Sonko should be reinstated on the electoral roll with all the rights associated with voter registration.

    Mr. Sonko’s removal from the electoral roll prevented him from participating in the presidential election, with the government citing his conviction in absentia on a vice-related case in June as grounds for his removal. However, Mr. Sonko has claimed that these cases are part of a plot to exclude him from the presidential race.

    A judge in Ziguinchor ordered on October 12 that Mr. Sonko, a prominent political figure in Senegal, should be reinstated on the lists.

    However, the Ministry of the Interior has thus far refused to provide him with the official forms required for collecting sponsorships, an essential step in the candidacy process.

    The Cena has urged DGE to take the necessary measures to ensure the prompt provision of sponsorship forms to Mr. Ousmane Sonko’s representative.

    In its response, DGE maintained that the forms were not provided to Mr. Sonko’s representatives because he was not on the lists, a position affirmed by the Supreme Court on October 6.

    While the Cena oversees and supervises the electoral process from registration to provisional result proclamation, the Ministry of the Interior is responsible for organizing elections.

    However, a Cena spokesperson acknowledged that the commission lacks the authority to compel the interior ministry.

    On Tuesday, Mr. Sonko’s legal team challenged the refusal to provide sponsorship forms in the Court of Justice of the Economic Community of African States (ECOWAS). The regional court has given itself until November 6 to resolve any disputes related to this case.

  • Hero of Senegal’s opposition receives intensive care

    Hero of Senegal’s opposition receives intensive care

    Popular Ousmane Sonko, the head of the Senegalese opposition who has been on a two-week hunger strike in protest of his imprisonment, has reportedly been admitted to urgent care, according to his allies.

    A Pastef party member named Ousseynou Ly asserted that Mr. Sonko was afflicted with a disease that hit last night. The Senegalese government has ordered the Pastef party to be shut down.

    A medical source at Hospital Principal in Dakar’s capital city verified his transfer to the intensive care unit to the BBC.

    After accusing and imprisoning Mr. Sonko for, among other things, insurrection and conspiracy against the state, Pastef claims that the authorities are “responsible” for his predicament. The authorities have not released a statement regarding Mr. Sonko’s health.

    He intends to run for president in February of next year, but since he was under investigation in a moral corruption case in 2021, he has been in a contentious power battle with the government.

    The rights and freedom of Ousmane Sonko are all we seek for from the government of Senegal, according to Habib Sy, leader of the opposition alliance Yewwi Askan Wi.

    Mr. Sonko was given a two-month prison sentence in absentia in June, which he claimed was driven by politics.

    According to Amnesty International, that sparked irate fights between the supporters, which resulted in the deaths of 24 individuals.

    He was detained the next month, and just this week he was accused of inciting uprising.

  • Protests in Senegal intensify following Sonko crackdown

    Protests in Senegal intensify following Sonko crackdown

    Senegal’s interior ministry has declared its commitment to “safeguarding peace and tranquillity” in the midst of ongoing opposition protests in various parts of the country.

    Minor demonstrations continue to unfold in Dakar, the capital, and Ziguinchor, a city where Ousmane Sonko, the opposition leader, holds the position of mayor.

    These protests stem from the recent arrest of Mr. Sonko during the weekend and the subsequent dissolution of his political party. He remains in custody and initiated a hunger strike on Sunday.

    On Monday, Interior Minister Antoine Félix Abdoulaye Diome announced the government’s decision to dissolve Mr. Sonko’s Patriots of Senegal (Pastef) party, citing its involvement in inciting unrest during violent protests that transpired last month in Dakar.

    However, Pastef contends that Senegal’s stability is now in jeopardy, as they believe the people will not accept what they view as a significant power forfeiture against their favored candidate.

    Social media videos depicted demonstrators pelting security forces with stones following Mr. Sonko’s arrest and the party’s dissolution.

    Mr. Sonko has criticized his detention, asserting that it is based on false pretenses. He also intends to challenge the official notification of his party’s dissolution through legal means.

    Remarkably, this marks the third instance of a political party being banned in Senegal since its independence from France in 1960, though the prior cases occurred prior to the introduction of multi-party democracy in the 1970s.

    Supporters of Pastef have alleged that President Macky Sall’s ruling party is attempting to marginalize their popular opponent.

    Mr. Sonko secured third place in the 2019 presidential election and is now facing what his supporters believe to be fabricated charges in anticipation of the February election.

  • Internet access in Senegal restricted to Sonko while he faces additional charges and remains in detention

    Internet access in Senegal restricted to Sonko while he faces additional charges and remains in detention

    Party of the embattled Senegalese opposition leader Ousmane Sonko, PASTEF, has condemned the government’s recent decision to levy new charges against him.

    They denounced the action as anti-democratic, as the government charged and detained Sonko on Monday for multiple offenses, including allegedly inciting insurrection, which the authorities claim resulted in fatalities.

    Sonko’s lawyers have claimed it’s a political vendetta by the government of the outgoing President Macky Sall.

    “We consider that the case is empty. We’ve put together a lot of statements to do this. But I have here statements by President Macky Sall, who made much more violent calls,” said Youssoupha Camara, the lawyer for Ousmane Sonko.

    The lawyers have also questioned the independence of the judiciary accusing some judges of being biased and siding with the executive to propagate punitive agenda against the opposition.

    “We think it was a political order that was unfortunately carried out by a judge. The aim of this political order was to prevent President Ousmane Sonko from taking part in the 2024 elections. And unfortunately, today, we have a judiciary that is almost subservient to the executive, not even to the executive, but to a regime that, whenever it wants, looks for trouble with its political opponents and sends them to prison. And that’s unfortunate for our Senegalese democracy,” said Babacar Ndiaye, the lawyer for Ousmane Sonko.

    Less than two hours after his indictment, Interior Minister Antoine Diome announced in a press release the dissolution of the opposition party, Pastef, justifying his decision by its “frequent” calls for “insurrectionary movements” which, according to him, resulted in numerous deaths in March 2021 and June 2023 and “acts of ransacking and looting of public and private property”. 

    Internet was also restricted on Monday by the government in a move intended to curb spread of information to deter an insurrection.

  • 3 Sonko supporters dead after clash with Police in Senegal

    3 Sonko supporters dead after clash with Police in Senegal

    Clashes between Senegalese police and supporters of opposition politician Ousmane Sonko have resulted in the death of three individuals.

    The protests erupted on Monday in Dakar, the capital, and the southern city of Ziguinchor ahead of Sonko’s scheduled court appearance.

    Sonko, who is facing rape allegations, has denied the charges and did not appear for the latest hearing, causing a one-week adjournment.

    His allies claim that the case is a political maneuver designed to prevent his candidacy in the upcoming presidential election.

    Authorities have stated that one of the deceased individuals was a police officer who was accidentally crushed by an armored vehicle.