Ousmane Sonko calls on Senegalese to “go out massively” in anticipation of a speech by Macky Sall

Opponent Ousmane Sonko does not intend to leave the field open to Macky Sall. He called, Sunday, July 2, the Senegalese to “go out massively” the next few days. This call comes the day before an address to the nation by President Macky Sall during which he must say whether he will be a candidate for a third presidential term in 2024.

“We must come out to confront the regime of Macky Sall and say that it will not be up to him to choose the candidates who will have to compete for the next presidential election”, he declared during an intervention on the social networks.

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Ousmane Sonko was sentenced a month ago to two years in prison in a sex scandal, which currently makes him ineligible. This sentence led to the most serious unrest in Senegal in early June, killing 16 people according to the authorities, 24 according to Amnesty International and 30 according to the opposition.

Ousmane Sonko has constantly shouted at the plot of power to exclude him from the presidential election of February 2024, which the power refutes. He has been blocked by the security forces at his home in Dakar, “kidnapped” according to him, since May 28.

Sonko calls for a “national outburst” against Sall’s candidacy

Macky Sall was elected in 2012, re-elected in 2019. He had the Constitution revised in 2016. It stipulates that “no one may serve more than two consecutive terms”. His supporters present him as their candidate in 2024, arguing that the revision has reset the counters to zero.

According to the opponent, if the president does not show up, it will be to better eliminate him politically and relaunch the judicial machine and “this is not acceptable”. In case of arrest, “I call on all the Senegalese people to stand up as one man and come out massively and this time to put an end to this criminal regime”.

If the president shows up, “I believe it’s incumbent on all the Senegalese people to stand up, to face him,” he said. “If we have to fight a fight, it must be definitive. I call for a national leap forward. The days and weeks to come will be crucial.”

With AFP