Senegal’s Constitutional Council on Friday rejected opposition leader Ousmane Sonko’s bid to run in next month’s presidential election, citing a lack of documentation. One of his lawyers, Cire Cledor Ly, said.
The verdict is a major blow to Sonko’s presidential ambitions, which have already been complicated by a spate of lawsuits against him since he was accused of rape in 2021. The incident sparked violent protests across the country.
Sonko was acquitted of rape, but was found guilty of defamation and immoral acts against a person under the age of 21 under the Criminal Code.
He was arrested for rioting in July and removed from his electoral post, but he filed his candidacy from prison after a court in southern Senegal ruled in his favor.
Sonko’s lawyer, Ly said Constitutional Council rejected Mr Sonko’s application because his file was incomplete. He said the council had not provided further details, but the opposition leader’s team would lodge a complaint as soon as they had more information about what documents were missing.
The legal turmoil over the popular opposition politician has sparked several, sometimes deadly, riots in the past two years. Leading to an election to determine President Macky Sall’s successor in West Africa’s most stable country. It damaged Senegal’s reputation as a democratic country.
Sonko denies any wrongdoing and says all allegations against him are politically motivated. The government denies this and accuses Sonko of inciting violence. Dissolved his Pastev Party in July 2023.
In the 2019 Senegalese presidential election, Sonko came in third place with an unexpectedly high number of votes for a first-time candidate.
Applications for the presidential election are currently being reviewed ahead of the January 20 deadline to announce the final list of approved candidates. Senegalese president, Macky Sall nominated Prime Minister Amadou Ba as the ruling coalition’s candidate in September.