DAKAR, Senegal: Senegal’s opposition leader Ousmane Sonko appeared in public for the first time since his release from prison Friday, predicting a comfortable victory for his coalition’s presidential candidate in the first round.
Sonko was greeted by hundreds of supporters outside a hotel in the capital, Dakar, where he held a press conference with his deputy and presidential hopeful Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who was also released late Thursday.
Sonko predicted that Faye would win in the first round if the March 24 vote was not rigged.
“If the election goes well, I don’t think we’ll get less than 60 percent,” he said.
He called on “the Senegalese people to remain vigilant, especially as there are rumours of corruption circulating,” while saying he did not have “sufficient evidence” on the matter.
Sonko, 49, disqualified from running in this vote, has been at the centre of over two year stand-off with the state.
He later named Faye to replace him on the presidential ballot and in Friday’s speech, he reiterated his support for him.
“My person is not the most important thing. My objective is to help win the election,” he said.
“I did not choose Diomaye by chance,” he added, referring to Faye.
Addressing the media, Sonko, however, reserved his sharpest attacks for the presidential camp’s candidate, former prime minister Amadou Ba. However, he insisted “the election will not be a war”.
“There will be no revenge, there will be justice,” Sonko said, referring to accountability for those currently in power if his camp wins.
Faye is believed to be one of the favourites to win the presidency.
He, tagged as the candidate for “system change” and “left-wing pan-Africanism”, has promised to reclaim Senegal’s sovereignty and renegotiate oil and gas contracts, as well as defence agreements if elected to power.
Early on Friday morning, thousands of people gathered in the streets of Dakar, singing and dancing as Sonko and Faye were led out of the city’s Cap Manuel prison.
After his release, Faye, 43, who had spent almost a year in prison, smiled and threw his hands in the air as he praised the support and solidarity of his followers.
Faye and Sonko benefited from the amnesty law passed by MPs last week.
The plan was proposed by the incumbent president in an effort to ease tensions after three years of unrest that flared up again last month when a presidential vote was postponed at the last minute.
This was a sign of the popularity of both, especially Sonko who is not even in the running for the top spot. Their release is likely to heat up the election campaign.
Faye had been in jail since April 2023 on charges of contempt of court, defamation and conduct likely to endanger public safety after posting messages critical of the justice system.
His manifesto reflects the issues that have made Sonko popular, including corruption, elites, multinational corporations and attacks on former colonial power France.
Sonko was jailed in late July on a series of charges including inciting rebellion, colluding with a terrorist organization and endangering national security.
His political party was also dissolved.
On Friday, Senegal’s top court confirmed the date of the delayed presidential polls, rejecting an attempt by disqualified candidates to cancel the date.
President Sall had postponed the February polls, trying to push it back to December at the last minute, sparking a crisis and deadly protests. The Constitutional Council, however, stepped in, forcing him to reset the date to March 24.
