Around twenty contestants have completed the first phase of validation of their candidacy in the Senegalese presidential elections on 25 February with the acceptance of their patronage by the Constitutional Council. This is not the case with imprisoned opponent Ousmane Sonko.
The Constitutional Council has completed the examination of the sponsorships necessary for the possible candidacy. Of the 93 candidates on the starting line, 72 were defeated, including four former prime ministers, Aminata Touré, Abdoul Mbaye, Cheikh Hadjibou Soumaré, Souleymane Ndéné Ndiaye, reports the Senegalese news agency (APS, public).
Final list on January 20th
The Constitutional Council will now examine the nominations of the 21 candidates based on their merits and will publish the final list by January 20. Those admitted include the presidential field’s candidate, current Prime Minister Amadou Ba, opponents Karim Wade and Khalifa Sall, and former Prime Minister Idrissa Seck, runner-up in the 2019 presidential election.
The Constitutional Council also approved the patronage of two potential rivals of Amadou Ba in his own field: Aly Ngouille Ndiaye, former Minister of Agriculture, and Mahammed Boun Abdallah Dionne, also a former Prime Minister and close to President Macky Sall.
Sonko’s case was dismissed
The Constitutional Council rejected opponent Ousmane Sonko’s dossier, considering it incomplete. Ousmane Sonko, the central figure in a tug-of-war with the state that lasted more than two years and gave rise to several episodes of deadly riots, has been indicated as one of the favorites in the presidential elections. His camp announced that it had filed an appeal.
The Constitutional Council, however, validated plan B of Ousmane Sonko’s dissolved party, Bassirou Diomaye Faye. Another close friend of Ousmane Sonko, Habib Sy, also crossed the sponsorship milestone. Senegal is holding a presidential election for the first time in which the incumbent president is not a candidate, as Macky Sall announced in July that he will not run for a third term.
2024-01-10 10:07:00
#Senegal #twenty #candidates #validate #patronage #presidential #elections #TV5MONDE