Senegal's Supreme Court overturned a judgment on Friday, November 17, that had put detained political opponent Ousmane Sonko, 49, back in the 2024 presidential race, ruling that the case would be retried.
A court in the southern city of Ziguinchor, where Sonko serves as mayor, last month ruled in favor of restoring him to the voter rolls but the Supreme Court "quashed and annulled" that decision, according to an attorney of Sonko's Cire Cledor Ly. The state had appealed the lower court's ruling.
"The court overturns and annuls the decision of the Ziguinchor court of October 12 and returns the case to the Dakar high court" for a retrial, the court's president Ali Cire Ba said. Sonko was recently returned to a Dakar jail after being hospitalized for several weeks amid a hunger strike.
"This decision does not suit us – the case will be retried but the sponsorships will soon end," Babacar Ndiaye, one of Sonko's lawyers, told Agence France-Presse on Friday. Obtaining sponsorships is an essential step for presidential candidates. "The decision is disappointing," Bamba Cisse, another of Sonko's lawyers, said.
Sonko, who finished third in the country's last presidential election, was widely seen as the main challenger to President Macky Sall’s ruling party. Sall ultimately decided not to seek a third term in office after Sonko’s supporters launched months of protests that at times turned deadly. In June, Sonko was acquitted on charges of raping a woman who worked at a massage parlor and making death threats against her. But he was convicted of corrupting youth and sentenced to two years in prison, which ignited deadly protests across the country.
In late July, Senegalese authorities formally dissolved Sonko’s political party and placed him in detention. He is now facing charges of calling for insurrection, conspiracy against the state and other alleged crimes. Sonko was recently returned to a Dakar jail after being hospitalized for several weeks amid a hunger strike.
Sonko also had appealed to the Court of Justice of the regional bloc ECOWAS to contest both the dissolution of his party and the striking of his voter registration, but that court ruled on Friday "that none of Mr. Ousmane Sonko’s rights had been violated and dismissed his claims," Ly said.