Senegal: Sonko promises "chaos" if his candidacy is prevented

DAKAR, Senegal

Opponent Ousmane Sonko on Thursday promised elections in Senegal in "indescribable chaos" if his 2024 presidential candidacy is prevented, during his first speech since President Macky Sall announced on Monday that he was not running for a third mandate.

"There will be no election in this country, or else it will be in indescribable chaos if President Macky Sall wants to prevent my candidacy through legal tricks," he warns in an interview on the France 24 channel.

Mr. Sonko, President Sall's fiercest opponent, was sentenced a month ago to two years in prison in a morality case. This condemnation makes him in his current state ineligible. In early June, it caused the most serious unrest in years in Senegal, killing 16 people according to the authorities, and around 30 according to the opposition.

He felt that Mr. Sall gave up a third candidacy, “not because he is a democrat”, but because of “popular and international pressure”. According to him, there is no reason to "congratulate" him for this.

Despite the "relentlessness" of power to eliminate him from the presidential race according to him, the leader of Pastef said he was "ready to forgive", and even to "forget" if he can participate in the election.

"We wish him (Macky Sall) to finish this mandate in style and to be able to leave in serenity, he and his family", he added, calling for "free", "transparent" and "inclusive" elections.

He claimed that there is no "official" or "unofficial" contact between him and the president. He said he was ready "to make sacrifices" to "appease" the country, but recalled that he would not discuss "the knife at the throat".

Mr. Sonko has been blocked by the security forces at his home in Dakar, "sequestered" according to him, since May 28.