Current:Home > FinanceSenegal electoral commission says main opposition leader Sonko should be given sponsorship forms-LoTradeCoin
Senegal electoral commission says main opposition leader Sonko should be given sponsorship forms
View Date:2024-12-23 16:10:29
DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Senegal’s electoral commission on Tuesday asked that sponsorship forms be given to main opposition leader Ousmane Sonko, whose candidacy for the upcoming presidential election has been called into question over the past year amid a series of criminal charges.
The move comes as Sonko remains hospitalized because of a hunger strike he began earlier this month and as he awaits a decision from a West African regional court. The ECOWAS Court of Justice said that it would render its verdict next week on Senegal’s dissolution of Sonko’s political party.
Senegal’s Interior Ministry removed Sonko from the voter rolls after his conviction earlier this year on charges of corrupting youth. However, the decision was later overturned by a judge in the southern city of Ziguinchor, where Sonko serves as mayor.
In a statement Tuesday the electoral commission said that Sonko “must enjoy his status as a registered voter with all the rights attached thereto.”
Sonko finished third in the last presidential election, and his supporters believe that the slew of criminal allegations brought against him since 2021 are part of an orchestrated campaign to derail his political aspirations ahead of a presidential election in February.
In June, Sonko was acquitted on charges of raping a woman who worked at a massage parlor and making death threats against her. But he was convicted of corrupting youth and sentenced to two years in prison, which ignited deadly protests across the country.
In late July, Senegalese authorities formally dissolved Sonko’s political party and placed him in detention. He is now facing charges of calling for insurrection, conspiracy against the state and other alleged crimes.
veryGood! (4781)
Related
- Trump breaks GOP losing streak in nation’s largest majority-Arab city with a pivotal final week
- Plan to recover holy grail of shipwrecks holding billions of dollars in treasure is approved over 3 centuries after ship sank
- Vote-counting machine foes hoped for a surge of success in New Hampshire. They got barely a ripple
- Pennsylvania lawmakers push to find out causes of death for older adults in abuse or neglect cases
- Prominent conservative lawyer Ted Olson, who argued Bush recount and same-sex marriage cases, dies
- 2 Black officers allege discrimination at police department
- New York State Legislature Votes to Ban CO2 Fracking, Closing a Decade-Old Loophole in State Law
- Chemotherapy: A quick explainer in light of Princess Kate's cancer diagnosis
- Younghoo Koo takes blame for Falcons loss to Saints: 'This game is fully on me'
- Ariana Grande, Josh Peck and the problem with punishing child stars
Ranking
- Saving for retirement? How to account for Social Security benefits
- What is '3 Body Problem'? Explaining Netflix's trippy new sci-fi and the three-body problem
- Sweet Reads sells beloved books and nostalgic candy in Minnesota
- Using public funds or facilities for gender-affirming care banned by GOP-led Idaho Legislature
- 'Yellowstone's powerful opening: What happened to Kevin Costner's John Dutton?
- An LA reporter read her own obituary. She's just one victim of a broader death hoax scam
- West Virginia governor signs law removing marital assault exemption
- Kristin Cavallari’s Boyfriend Mark Estes Responds to Criticism Over Their 13-Year Age Gap
Recommendation
-
Man is 'not dead anymore' after long battle with IRS, which mistakenly labeled him deceased
-
Kate Middleton Diagnosed With Cancer: Revisiting Her Health Journey
-
Democratic state senator files paperwork for North Dakota gubernatorial bid
-
Deaths of dog walker, 83, and resident of a remote cabin possibly tied to escaped Idaho inmate
-
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich had a stroke earlier this month, is expected to make full recovery
-
The Smart Reusable Notebook That Shoppers Call Magic is Just $19 During Amazon's Big Spring Sale
-
Millie Bobby Brown's 'Stranger Things' co-star will officiate her wedding
-
See the moment a Florida police dog suddenly jumped off a 75-foot-bridge – but was saved by his leash