DAKAR, Senegal: Senegalese President Macky Sall has asked his government to enact the amnesty law as soon as it is officially announced, amid hopes that the jailed main opposition candidate may be freed before the presidential election in 10 days.
Sall proposed a bill that would grant amnesty for acts related to political protests in 2021 and beyond to end weeks of crisis after the February 25 presidential election was postponed.
This law was approved by the representatives last week and is expected to be promulgated soon, but there is no official information on when it will be promulgated.
The main beneficiaries are likely to be the jailed opposition candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye and the detained leader of the Coalition Firefighters Party, Ousmane Sonko.
Their release could dramatically change the scene ahead of the presidential election.
There have been unconfirmed rumours of their release, but it is not clear if they fall under the new law.
Such a move would dramatically change the presidential campaign, and Sonko’s powerful rhetoric would resonate with young voters.
Faye, a front-runner for the presidency, has not been able to speak to voters in person since campaigning on March 9.
Sall asked his government “to proceed without delay with the application of the amnesty law as soon as it is promulgated,” a cabinet statement published late Wednesday said.
Sonko has been at the center of a fierce two-year conflict with the government and has been in prison since July.
The case against him from 2021 to 2023 along with economic and social tensions has caused uncertainty.
The opposition standard-bearer finished third in the 2019 presidential election, but was disqualified from running in 2024.
Sonko then voted to replace Faye, who is also serving his sentence from April 2023.
On Thursday, on the sixth day of the campaign, the “Diomaye President” coalition held a rally in the northern suburbs of the capital Dakar.
The president will not run for re-election this year. His last-minute decision to postpone a presidential vote in February led to clashes that left four dead.
After a month of political crisis, a new date was finally set for March 24.
Violence since 2021 has left dozens dead and hundreds injured in the coup-ridden West African country, often seen as a bastion of stability.
Sonko is a divisive figure in the turmoil.
Sonko has always claimed there was a conspiracy to keep him out of the 2024 elections, but his campaign and the government are to blame for the violence.
This opposition lawmaker was convicted twice in 2023 for defamation of a minister.
Since the end of July, he has been in prison on several charges, including inciting a riot, colluding with terrorist groups, and endangering national security.
His political party was also dissolved.
Sonko MP Faye has been in jail since April on charges of contempt of court, defamation and breach of public order after posting messages criticizing the justice system.
Unlike Sonko, Faye has not been tried.
Sonko’s eligibility to stand for election remains disputed.
On Thursday, Senegal’s Supreme Court was due to hear the country’s appeal against the court’s ruling that reinstated Sonko on the electoral roll.
After a short hearing, the state withdrew its appeal and the case was closed, state lawyer Amadou Yeri Baattorney told the media.
