The attorneys for Senegalese opposition leader Ousmane Sonko have begun a legal counter-offensive before the Supreme court with two appeals.
This follows the two-week-old appeal that was filed before the ECOWAS Court of Justice.
The General Directorate of Elections’ rejection to provide Sonko’s representative with the paperwork required to gather citizen sponsorships for the presidential election gave rise to Sonko’s two petitions before the Senegalese Supreme Court.
The second request is made in relation to Pastef, the opposition party.
According to Sonko’s lawyers, there was no basis for this because the political group was not touched by any irregularities and never called for insurgency. They also argue that a warning should have been sent prior to the group’s dissolution.
On Monday, October 2, both appeals were filed with the Supreme Court.
In the south of the nation, at the Tribunal d’instance de Ziguinchor, an appeal was also filed on Tuesday, October 3. This is a protest over Sonko’s removal off the voter list.
Ousmane Sonko, a declared candidate for the February 2024 presidential election, has been embroiled in a tense power struggle with the government since 2021, when he came under scrutiny in a case of moral corruption.
He received a two-month prison term in absentia on June 1. In July, he was detained and put in jail. Sonko and his backers have criticized his conviction and imprisonment as being driven by politics.
