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☆ US Urges Timely Election in Senegal, Welcomes Court Ruling Against Delay
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-16 | by ( Feb. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Kanishka SinghWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Friday welcomed a court decision that overturned the postponement of Senegal's presidential election to December, and called for a new "free and fair election" to be held as soon as possible. A bill that pushed back the Feb. 25 poll and plunged the country into electoral uncertainty was overturned on Thursday by Senegal's Constitutional Council. In his Friday statement accepting the council's ruling, Sall said he would initiate the consultations needed to organise the election as soon as possible. CONTEXTThe opposition and foreign powers had urged the authorities to comply with the constitutional council's ruling. Senegal had never previously delayed a presidential vote.

Persons: Kanishka Singh WASHINGTON, Macky Sall, Sall's, Sall, Kanishka Singh, Stephen Coates Organizations: Senegal's Constitutional Council, State Department Locations: United States, Senegal, Washington

☆ Senegal, one of Africa's bastions of stability, faces its gravest threat of unrest in decades
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

DAKAR, Senegal - June 2, 2023: Supporters of jailed opposition leader Ousmane Sonko protest in the Senegalese capital following his two-year sentencing for "corrupting the youth." The criminal conviction of a populist opposition leader in Senegal has triggered widespread unrest that threatens the West African country's long-established political stability. "The African Union and ECOWAS should use their influence to press Senegalese authorities to end their repression of protests and critics." The underlying roots of the unrest are both political and socio-economic, according to analysts at African specialist intelligence company Pangea-Risk. Consumer price inflation has slowed since late 2022, but hovers at around 9%, with food prices up more than 11% year-on-year.

Persons: Ousmane Sonko, Kaneza Nantulya, Antonio Guterres, Moussa Faki Mahamat, Kaneza, Sonko, Macky, Sall Organizations: Human Rights Watch, United Nations, Economic, West African States, ECOWAS, African Union Locations: DAKAR, Senegal, Africa

☆ Senegal government cuts mobile internet access amid deadly rioting
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] A supporter of Senegal opposition leader Ousmane Sonko walks near a burning barricade during clashes with security forces after Sonko was sentenced to prison, in Dakar, Senegal, June 3, 2023. REUTERS/Zohra BensemraDAKAR, June 4 (Reuters) - Senegal's government has cut access to mobile internet services in certain areas because of deadly rioting in which "hateful and subversive" messages have been posted online, it said in a statement on Sunday. It extended the outage on Sunday to include all data on mobile internet devices in certain areas and at certain times, the statement said. "Because of the spread of hateful and subversive messages ... mobile Internet is temporarily suspended at certain hours of the day," the statement said. Reporting by Bate Felix Writing by Edward McAllister Editing by David Holmes and Frances KerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Ousmane Sonko, Sonko, Macky Sall's, Bate Felix, Edward McAllister, David Holmes, Frances Kerry Organizations: REUTERS, Amnesty, Thomson Locations: Senegal, Dakar, DAKAR, Africa, Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Gabon, Gambia, Democratic Republic of Congo

Sonko, 48, was accused of raping a woman who worked in a massage parlour in 2021, when she was 20, and making death threats against her. "With this sentence Sonko cannot be a candidate," said one of his lawyers, Bamba Cisse. University law professor Ndiack Fall said Sonko could demand a retrial if he turns himself in to authorities. But Sall's second term has been particularly turbulent for a country usually viewed as one of West Africa's strongest democracies. Separately, Sonko is appealing against a six-month suspended prison sentence for libel.

Persons: Ousmane Sonko, Bamba Cisse, Ndiack Fall, Sonko's, Sonko, Macky Sall, Sall, Ngouda Dione, Bate Felix, Sofia Christensen, Estelle Shirbon, Christina Fincher, Matthew Lewis Organizations: University, REUTERS, Thomson Locations: DAKAR, Dakar, West, Dakar Senegal, Senegal

DAKAR, June 1 (Reuters) - Nine people were killed in Senegal on Thursday in clashes between riot police and supporters of opposition leader Ousmane Sonko after a court sentenced him to two years in jail, casting serious doubt on his chances of running for president next year. The justice ministry said the opposition leader could now be taken to prison at any time. Police remained stationed around his home Dakar as unrest flared in the capital and elsewhere after the verdict. But Sall's second term has been particularly turbulent for a country usually viewed as one of West Africa's strongest democracies. Separately, Sonko is appealing against a six-month suspended prison sentence for libel - an offence he also denies.

Persons: Ousmane Sonko, Sonko, Bamba Ciss, Sonko's, Antoine Felix Abdoulaye Diome, Abdou Karim Fofana, Ndiack Fall, Macky Sall, Sall, Ngouda Dione, Bate Felix, Diadie Ba, Edward McAllister, Sofia Christensen, Alessandra Prentice, Matthew Lewis, Andrew Heavens, Daniel Wallis Organizations: Police, REUTERS, University, Thomson Locations: DAKAR, Senegal, Dakar, Dakar Senegal, West, Lincoln

Opposition MP Ramatoulaye Bodian said politicians and mayors had planned to visit Sonko at home on Monday, but were prevented by police who fired tear gas at them. Senegal's interior minister said Sunday's caravan had not sought permission and was stopped for security reasons. Senegal is seen as one of West Africa's strongest democracies and has a two-term limit for presidents. A guilty verdict could rule Sonko out of the election. Additional reporting by Joel Kouam Writing by Edward McAllister; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Leslie AdlerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Senegal opposition leader appeals conviction threatening his presidential bid
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Diadie Ba | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

DAKAR, May 15 (Reuters) - Senegalese opposition leader Ousmane Sonko has appealed a libel conviction that could prevent him running in presidential elections next year, one of his lawyers said, as another round of protests broke out on Monday. Last week, Sonko received a suspended six-month sentence for libel stemming from his accusations that the minister of tourism had embezzled funds. The conviction casts doubt over Sonko's eligibility to run for president in an election that where President Macky Sall is widely expected to seek a third term. Sonko has denied the charges and denounced the conviction, as well as another trial he is facing on charges of rape, as politically motivated. Hundreds rallied in Dakar last week in the latest show of protest against Sall's potential bid for a third term in the upcoming February poll.

DAKAR, May 8 (Reuters) - The presidential bid of a popular Senegalese opposition politician was thrown into doubt on Monday after a court of appeal handed him a heavier suspended sentence in a libel case, triggering a small protest in Dakar that riot police quelled with tear gas. But Monday's appeal hearing extended the suspended sentence to six months, said lawyer Boubacar Cissé, who represents the minister. "If this sentence is final, there is a good chance that his candidacy will be inadmissible," Diaw said. He has six days to file an appeal with the Supreme Court. Aside from the latest ruling, Sonko is also charged with raping a beauty salon employee in 2021 and making deaths threats against her.

Shops and banks closed early on Wednesday as the West African nation braced for fresh protests over a court case that has fuelled tension and violence ahead of presidential elections next year. Violence broke out on the day of Sonko's last court appearance on March 16, as police fired tear gas at supporters accompanying his motorcade to the courthouse. Sonko has called for more nationwide protests on Wednesday, Thursday and April 3. Police fired several rounds of tear gas and stun grenades forcing mostly student protesters to retreat into the campus from where they hurled rocks. He is also on trial for allegedly raping a beauty salon employee in 2021 and making death threats against her.

☆ Senegal ruling coalition loses comfortable majority
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-05 | by ( Diadie Ba | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

DAKAR, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Senegal's ruling Benno Bokk Yakaar (BBY) coalition has lost its comfortable majority in parliament, securing just two seats more than two allied opposition coalitions in a legislative election at the weekend, the electoral commission said on Thursday. Provisional results from Sunday's vote showed President Macky Sall's BBY won 82 out of 165 seats, one short of the 83 required for an absolute majority, while the alliance of opposition coalitions Yewwi Askane Wi (YAW) and the Wallu Senegal won 80. Both BBY and the YAW-Wallu alliance had earlier claimed victory, with opposition leader Ousmane Sonko saying the ruling coalition would try to steal the vote and calling for his supporters to be ready to defend their choice. "The Senegalese people gave a real lesson in democracy to the political class," BBY member Amadou Sall told Reuters. Writing by Sofia Christensen and Alessandra Prentice Editing by Alexander Winning, Frances Kerry and Lincoln FeastOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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