The Senegalese authorities authorized this Tuesday an opposition rally which intends to engage in a show of force before the trial of one of its leaders and less than a year from the presidential election.
The Yewwi Askan Wi (YAW, Let's Free the People) coalition had warned that it would ignore a possible ban.
The toughening of tone on his part and that of the presidential majority at the start of a tense week raised fears that a ban would heat up tempers.
Doubt surrounded the issue or not of the authorization until a few hours before the start of the meeting scheduled for mid-afternoon in a popular district of Dakar.
Authorities have banned a number of opposition demonstrations in recent months.
The prefect of Dakar Mor Talla Tine finally issued an order sent to AFP and authorizing the rally from 3:00 p.m. (local time and Paris time).
Growing tensions
Tensions have been growing for months in this country considered a rare island of stability in a troubled region.
Tuesday's rally opens a risky streak, with marches announced by Yewwi Askan Wi across the country on Wednesday and the trial scheduled for Thursday of one of the coalition's leaders, Ousmane Sonko, for defamation.
The legal cases opened against Mr. Sonko and the mortgage they pose to his presidential candidacy have been sources of tension for two years.
In addition to socio-economic concerns, the doubt that President Macky Sall has about whether or not he intends to run for a third term also contributes to pitting the opposing camps against each other.