Speaking to the press a day after his release from prison, Senegalese challenger Ousmane Sonko predicted a landslide victory for his nemesis, Basirou Diomey Faye, in the first round of the March 24 presidential election if the election is held without fraud.
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For his first speech in months, Friday March 15, anti-establishment Osmane Sonko expressed confidence in the outcome of the upcoming presidential election, buoyed by his release from prison 10 days before the election.
“If the elections go well, I don’t think we will get less than 60%,” he told the press in Dakar. However, he called on “Senegalese to be vigilant, especially since rumors of corruption are spreading” and added that he did not have “enough evidence” in this regard.
Ousmane Sonko returned to the current electoral process and returned to long monologues after being disqualified from the presidential election by the Constitutional Council in January. He accused the organization of firing him “on command”.
He affirmed his intention to place himself at the service of victory, without advancing his person in the campaign. “My person is not the most important thing. My goal is to help win the election,” he said. Since his incarceration in July 2023, he has “never decided anything without talking to Basiro Diomaye” Faye, he assured.
After his disqualification from the presidential election, his camp nominated Basirou Diomay Fay to replace him in January.
Also readPresidential election in Senegal: “Sonko movement” realigns around Basirou Diomey Faye
Osmane Sonko reported that he had asked his camp’s deputies to vote against the amnesty law adopted last week, which would have allowed him and Basirou Diomey Faye to be released from prison. He designated the presidential camp’s candidate, former prime minister Amadou Bane, as “the greatest threat facing Senegal today”.
“This will not be an election war,” he said, adding that in the event of a victory for his side, the incumbent would be held accountable. “There will be no revenge, there will be justice. I’m not saying there will be complete liberation,” he said.
The amnesty law was adopted at the instigation of President Mackie Sale, the latter, calm after three years of tension, reawakened by the last-minute postponement of the presidential election. “It is because it has been announced that they (Osmane Sonko and Basirou Diomaye Faye) have come out,” presidential spokesman, Yoro Diya, said on Friday.
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Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court spared the country another drama by dismissing the petitions of disqualified presidential candidates, including Karim Wade, who requested the suspension of a decree setting the election date and the duration of the rural area. The court declared these pleas “inadmissible”.
with AFP
