On Tuesday, October 31, a department of the Senegalese Interior Ministry rejected the electoral commission’s request to reinstate opponent Ousmane Sonko in the electoral lists and issue him essential documents for his candidacy in the 2024 presidential election.
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In a response to a letter from the Autonomous National Electoral Commission (CENA), the General Directorate of Elections (DGE) reiterates that it “does not have the authority to carry out any action on the electoral register”. The DGE does not specify who has this competence. In its letter to the DGE, CENA had written that Mr Sonko “must enjoy his status as a registered voter on the electoral lists with all rights.” [qui y sont] attached.”
Mr Sonko has been removed from the electoral rolls, which currently prevents him from taking part in the presidential election. The government essentially argued that the opponent had been convicted in absentia in a morality trial in June to justify his removal. Ousmane Sonko, who has been detained since late July on other charges, describes these events as a conspiracy aimed at disqualifying him from running for president.
Challenge before the ECOWAS Court of Justice
A judge in Ziguinchor ordered on October 12 that Mr. Sonko, who is at the center of a turbulent and violent political-judicial saga that has gripped Senegal for two and a half years, be reinstated on the lists. However, the Interior Ministry has so far refused to issue him the official forms that would allow him to collect his sponsorships, a necessary step when submitting an application.
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CENA “invites the General Directorate of Elections to take the necessary measures to make the sponsorship form available to the representative of Mr. Ousmane Sonko as soon as possible,” it said in its letter. In its published response, the DGE explains that the failure to provide the forms to Mr Sonko’s representatives was due to his absence from the lists, a position confirmed by the Supreme Court on October 6, it stresses.
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CENA controls and monitors the electoral process, from entry into the lists to the preliminary announcement of the results. The elections are organized by the Ministry of the Interior. However, a CENA spokesman admitted to Agence France-Presse that the commission could not restrict the Interior Ministry.
Mr Sonko’s lawyers also challenged the refusal to issue him with sponsorship forms before the Court of Justice of the Economic Community of African States (ECOWAS) on Tuesday. The district court has decided to give itself until November 6th to resolve disputes in connection with this case.