The Senegalese Constitutional Council published on Saturday a final list of 20 candidates for the February 25 presidential election, which does not include two notable opponents: Ousmane Sonko, currently imprisoned, and Karim Wade, son and minister of ex-president Abdoulaye Wade.
The list includes the government candidate, Prime Minister Amadou Bâ, former heads of government Idrissa Seck and Mahammed Boun Abdallah Dionne, and Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar Faye, presented as Ousmane Sonko's replacement candidate.
Ousmane Sonko, central figure in a standoff lasting more than two years with the State which gave rise to several episodes of deadly unrest, is not on the list, as was expected.
Popular among young people, he was among the favorites in the presidential election.
The Council, after a last appeal by Mr. Sonko, rejected his candidacy due to a final sentence for defamation to six months in prison suspended on January 4 which makes him "
ineligible for five years
", a case having opposed to a minister.
In two other cases, Mr. Sonko was found guilty in June of debauchery of a minor and sentenced to two years in prison, then imprisoned at the end of July on other charges, including calling for insurrection, criminal association in connection with a terrorist enterprise and attack on state security, a pending case.
Mr. Sonko denounced a plot to prevent him from participating in the 2024 presidential election, which the government denies.
The final list includes two women, Rose Wardini, gynecologist and civil society actress, and entrepreneur Anta Babacar Ngom.
This is the first time that Senegal is organizing a presidential election with so many candidates, constitutionalist Babacar Guèye told AFP on Saturday.
Five candidates were selected during the 2019 presidential election, won by President Macky Sall.
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“ Inadmissible
” candidacy
of Karim Wade
Opponent Karim Wade, son and minister of former President Abdoulaye Wade (2000-2012), saw his candidacy deemed “
inadmissible
” due to his dual French and Senegalese nationality, according to the Council.
Any candidate for the presidency “
must be exclusively of Senegalese nationality, enjoy their civil and political rights
,” says the Constitution.
Karim Wade, 55, born in France to a Senegalese father and a mother of French origin, produced a sworn declaration dated December 21 according to which he has exclusively Senegalese nationality, indicated the Council.
However, the document of proof that he presented was a decree dated January 16 published the following day in the Official Journal of the French Republic.
The court considers that the effects of the decree establishing Mr. Wade's renunciation of his French nationality “
are not retroactive
” and that his sworn declaration was “
inexact
” at the time of its filing.
He was prevented from running in the 2019 presidential election due to his conviction in 2015 to six years in prison for illicit enrichment.
Detained for more than three years, he was pardoned in 2016 by President Sall, and has since lived in exile abroad.
The National Assembly passed a law in August restoring his eligibility.
With less than a month and a half to go, there is total uncertainty as to the outcome of the two-round election.
Senegal is organizing a presidential election for the first time without the participation of the outgoing president.
Macky Sall, elected in 2012 for seven years and re-elected in 2019, declared in July that he would not run again in February 2024. He then chose Prime Minister Amadou Bâ to succeed him.