After two new setbacks this week – his confirmed six-month prison sentence for libel and the Constitutional Council's refusal to consider his candidacy – the jailed opponent's allies are considering all possible legal remedies. For them, their candidate has not yet been eliminated.
Published on: June 1, 2024 – 8:58 p.m
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With our correspondent in Dakar, Juliette Dubois
Ousmane Sonko's lawyers have already announced a lawsuit against him Refusal of the Constitutional Council to examine his application documents in the presidential election next February on the grounds that it would be incomplete. The council did not specify which parts were non-compliant. This can be the sponsorship form or the certificate of deposit with the Caisse de dépôt et consignations.
Regarding the decision of the Supreme Court on Thursday, which confirms his six-month suspended sentence for defamation and should lead to his inadmissibility, the opponent's lawyers have planned to file a judgment action with the court, that is, a request to annul the decision on technical grounds. In both cases, Ousmane Sonko's lawyers are waiting to be officially informed next week of the decisions to assert their claims.
Despite these two major setbacks, the former opponent's party, Pastef, remains mobilized behind its leader. If he is finally excluded from the presidential election, Plan B would always be Birame Souleye Diop, also behind bars.
There has been talk of a Plan C in the media in recent days, in the person of former minister Habib Sy, sponsored by ex-Pastef MPs. This is not the case, replies El Malick Ndiaye, spokesman for the dissolved party. The idea is simply to increase the number of applications from members of the Yewwi Askan Wi opposition coalition to provide a candidate for the February 25 presidential election. Ousmane Sonko will remain her candidate “until the end”.