Tag: Africa

The release of firebrand Sonko and his right-hand man Faye could help opposition chances in the March 24 election to replace outgoing President Macky Sall.

Celebrations broke out among Senegal’s opposition supporters after two of their top leaders were freed from jail 10 days before the country’s delayed presidential election.

Firebrand politician Ousmane Sonko and his close aide Bassirou Diomaye Faye were released late on Thursday in a move that could boost the opposition’s chance to win in the March 24 election and replace outgoing President Macky Sall.

Sonko, the charismatic anti-establishment politician who has won over crowds of youngsters by promising to fight corruption, had been behind bars since July, serving a two-year sentence for corrupting the youth. He was barred from running for the presidential race due to a separate case involving defamation charges.

His supporters maintain Sonko’s legal woes were an outcome of efforts to keep him away from competing in the elections. Excluded from the presidential race, Sonko urged his supporters to vote for Faye, a lesser-known politician and deputy of his now-dissolved PASTEF party. “Ousmane is Diomaye,” was the message his supporters spread from prison. Faye was also in jail but on administrative detention — a state of arrest that does not bar him from contesting in the election.

“Sonko represents hope for the entire nation,” said Cheick Diara, a young Senegalese man cheering in the streets of Dakar on his release. “Look what is happening around the youth, they want change – we want Sonko in power,” he said.

Faye’s mission is now to bank on Sonko’s popularity to win the country’s top job. Dressed in a sky-blue tunic and a white cap, he was welcomed as a hero by a crowd gathered in front of Cap-Manuel prison in the capital Dakar as the news of his release started circulating.

“The way from prison to the presidential palace is now paved,” said Alioune Tine, founder of think tank AfrikaJom Center and former Amnesty International Regional Director for West and Central Africa. “President Sall thought he could neutralise their popularity by putting them in prison, but he understood that it wasn’t working – he was forced to release them,” said Tine, noting that their release will re-energise the opposition front.

Faye’s programme includes the establishment of a new national currency and the renegotiation of the country’s mining and energy contracts between the government and private conglomerates. Central to his campaign is also a review of the relations with former colonial power France whose economic interests in the country are perceived by some in the opposition as a form of neo-colonialism.

He has also promised to tackle youth unemployment: Three out of 10 Senegalese aged 18 to 35 are jobless. The crisis is further exacerbated by the speed at which the population is growing – it doubles every 25 years, according to Afro Barometer data.

“This is a radical youth for a radical change who wants to see a new way of doing politics,” said Hawa Bo, associate director of the Open Society Foundation. “They want to break with clientelism, endemic corruption and lack of accountability,” she added.

The anti-establishment presidential hopeful’s election could have significant implications for the region’s economy and the country’s plan to become an oil producer by the end of 2024. Senegal is the region’s number one recipient of foreign aid, including a $1.8bn loan from the International Monetary Fund.

Meanwhile, Sall’s governing Alliance of the Republic party has bet on Amadou Ba, a former prime minister. He ran the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning from 2013 to 2019 and was the country’s top diplomat between 2019 and 2020. His victory would mean policy continuity with the previous government, something that would likely reassure foreign investors.

Western allies are also closely monitoring developments in Senegal after months of protests have rocked Senegal’s image as a rare bastion of stability in a region plagued by military coups.

The latest round of demonstrations took place after Sall postponed the elections originally planned for February. The decision plunged Senegal into uncertainty with critics saying the move amounted to a constitutional coup for Sall to get a third mandate. Presidents in Senegal have a two-term limit. The Constitutional Court overruled the delay and elections were finally set for March 24.

In an attempt to quell tensions, Sall passed a controversial amnesty law – under which Sonko and Faye were released on Thursday –  that critics have said is an attempt to make a clean exit from power and avoid being targeted once he is out of office.

Sall’s second term was marked by restrictions on civil liberties, a ban on demonstrations and internet shutdowns. At least 40 people were killed and more than a thousand political opponents ended in jail since 2021, according to Human Rights Watch.

Freedom for Ousmane Sonko and Bassirou Diomaye Faye could dramatically alter the election race.

Senegal’s top opposition leader, Ousmane Sonko, has been released from prison, triggering jubilant celebrations outside the prison as well as across Dakar, the capital.

State broadcaster RTS reported Sonko was freed along with key ally Bassirou Diomaye Faye late on Thursday.

Their release comes after a crisis triggered by President Macky Sall’s decision to postpone the February 25 presidential vote and was expected following last week’s passage of an amnesty law for acts committed in connection with political demonstrations since 2021.

The election, which authorities wanted to postpone for 10 months, is now due to take place on March 24.

“They came out in front of us,” said lawyer Cheikh Koureyssi Ba.

Sonko was at the heart of a bitter two-year standoff with the state and has been in prison since July.

The legal case against him, along with rising economic and social tensions, led to deadly unrest between 2021 and 2023.

Sonko came third in the 2019 presidential election but was barred from running as a candidate in this year’s poll.

News of his release brought thousands of supporters onto the streets of Dakar, chanting Sonko’s name on the street outside his house. Some lit flares, danced or blasted their motorbike and car horns.

“We’ve been waiting for this day for so long. Prayed for it,” said 52-year-old health worker Fatima, who gave only her first name. She had rushed to join the crowd when she heard Sonko and Faye were free.

“I believe Sonko can change the country,” she said.

The opposition leader is popular among young people and his fiery campaign to tackle corruption has resonated in a country where the cost of living is rising and many people are struggling.

“It’s a joy. It’s incredible. They released Ousmane Sonko!”, said 31-year-old Mamadou Mballo Mane.

After he was disqualified from contesting the election, Sonko endorsed Faye to replace him on the ballot.

Faye, who was jailed in April 2023, has been unable to address voters in person since campaigning kicked off on March 9.

Incumbent Macky Sall is not standing for re-election this year. His last-minute decision to defer the February presidential vote led to unrest in which four people were killed.

Bouts of unrest since 2021 have left dozens dead and led to hundreds of arrests in a country often viewed as a pillar of stability in West Africa, where there have been dozens of coups and attempted coups in recent decades.

Sonko has always maintained there was a plot to keep him out of the 2024 election, while his camp and the government have traded blame for the violence.

He had been jailed since the end of July on a string of charges, including provoking insurrection, conspiracy with terrorist groups and endangering state security.

His political party was also dissolved.