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The 44-year-old will be inaugurated to replace Macky Sall, who ruled the West African nation for 12 years. Senegal’s Constitutional Council has confirmed the presidential election victory of opposition candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye. Faye – an anti-establishment candidate and ally of popular opposition figure Ousmane Sonko – won more than 54 percent of votes cast in last Sunday’s delayed presidential …

Al Jazeera’s Nicolas Haque recounts the tumultuous events leading up to Senegal’s presidential election and how some voters are hoping for a miracle on Sunday. Thousands were released, including opposition leader Ousmane Sonko and his deputy Bassirou Diomaye Faye – the election candidate representing the banned political party PASTEF. Described by his critics as the “billionaire civil servant” – billions …

DAKAR, Senegal — Senegal’s top opposition leader, Ousmane Sonko, has been released from prison ahead of the presidential election later this month, triggering jubilant celebrations across the country’s capital. Sonko, who finished third in the 2019 presidential election, is popular among young people and his fiery campaign to tackle corruption has resonated in a country with economic hardship. Sall himself …

Senegalese opposition leader Ousmane Sonko faces charges of fomenting insurrection as interior ministry says his PASTEF party has been dissolved. Senegal’s interior ministry has dissolved the political party of opposition leader Ousmane Sonko for rallying supporters into stoking unrest during violent protests last month, as demonstrators clashed with police in the capital Dakar. Sonko on hunger strike “It’s a farce,” …

Top Senegalese opposition leader Ousmane Sonko arrested: Lawyer

The firebrand politician and presidential candidate has faced a number of legal woes in recent years. Top Senegalese opposition leader Ousmane Sonko has been arrested, one of his lawyers told Al Jazeera. Sonko had long called for President Macky Sall to bow out of the 2024 election publicly, accusing Sall’s government of bringing court cases against the opposition politician in …

The death toll in the Senegal violence has risen to 15 as supporters of convicted opposition leader Ousmane Sonko and police continued to clash, the government said on Saturday. Sonko came third in Senegal’s 2019 presidential election and is popular with the country’s youth. Sonko is considered President Macky Sall’s main competition and has urged Sall to state publicly that …

DAKAR, Senegal — The number of people killed in days of clashes between Senegalese police and supporters of opposition leader Ousmane Sonko has now risen to 15, including two security officers, the government said on Saturday. France’s ministry for Europe and foreign affairs said it was “extremely concerned by the violence” and called for a resolution to this crisis, in …

Opposition leader Ousmane Sonko was diverted to his home after he attempted to lead a convoy of vehicles to Dakar. Just one day prior, Sonko – founder of the left-leaning PASTEF party – had attempted to lead what he called a “caravane de la liberté” or a “freedom caravan” from the town of Ziguinchor, where he serves as mayor, to …

Ousmane Sonko

Senegal opposition leader Ousmane Sonko’s rape trial adjourned

Ousmane Sonko, who denies charges, does not turn up for court appearance in Dakar. The trial of Senegalese opposition leader Ousmane Sonko for alleged rape has been immediately adjourned for a week, after opening in his absence at a court in the capital, Dakar. “Sonko says he’s not attending court because his rights are not being respected,” Al Jazeera’s Nicolas …

DAKAR, Senegal — Prosecutors in Senegal who had sought two years in prison for opposition leader Ousmane Sonko have filed an appeal after he was given a much lighter, two-month suspended sentence for his conviction on libel charges in a case his supporters say was politically motivated. The outcome of Thursday’s verdict allows Sonko to run for president next year …

Ousmane Sonko, widely supported by Senegalese youth, is facing a civil libel case filed against him by Senegal’s tourism minister for alleged defamation and public insults. Police and demonstrators clashed in Senegal’s capital Dakar on Thursday before a court case involving opposition leader Ousmane Sonko, who is widely supported by many of the West African country’s youth. Law enforcement officers …

Some opposition leaders and Sonko’s supporters fear the case is an attempt by Senegal’s president to remove a potentially popular rival. Senegalese opposition leader Ousmane Sonko will face trial on charges of rape and making death threats to a beauty salon employee in 2021, an investigating judge has said. Some opposition leaders and Sonko’s supporters fear the case is an …