Bassirou Diomaye Faye standing in for the barred Ousmane Sonko was still on remand in jail when the campaign kicked off (AC Vol 65 No 4 Fury as Sall's vote delay unleashes mayhem)...
His commitment to quit and to go ahead with the elections may weaken his hand in negotiations especially with supporters of jailed opposition leader Ousmane Sonko and his officially dissolved Patriotes africains du Sénégal pour le travail l'éthique et la fraternité (Pastef) movement (AC Vol 65 No 1 Sonko's long walk to the ballot box)...
Yet the key opposition player in the drama remains former tax inspector Ousmane Sonko whose claims in his book in 2017 of grand corruption in the country's nascent oil industry badly dented the Sall government's reputation (AC Vol 59 No 23 A well-oiled machine)...
READ FOR FREE
With reports of a back-channel between Sall's camp and that of jailed oppositionist Ousmane Sonko some last minute deal cannot be excluded...
DISPATCHES
' The decision by the constitutional court to rule as ineligible most of the more than 80 candidates who sought to stand in the first ballot including opposition Pastef les Patriotes leader Ousmane Sonko and Karim Wade was presented as the rationale behind Sall's decision (AC Vol 65 No 3 A crowded field)...
READ FOR FREE
DISPATCHES
Confirmation that opposition leader Ousmane Sonko will not be on the ballot for February's presidential elections came after the electoral commission announced the 20 candidates who have been approved to contest the first round on 25 February (AC Vol 65 No 1 Sonko's long walk to the ballot box)...
READ FOR FREE
Now definitively excluded from the presidential race the imprisoned Ousmane Sonko waits to learn whether his stand-in Bassirou Diomaye Faye will be allowed out of jail to campaign in person (Dispatches 23/1/24 Prime Minister Ba is poll favourite after court rules out Ousmane Sonko)...
Prime Minister Amadou Ba's status as the favourite has been strengthened by the confirmation of a defamation conviction against opposition leader Ousmane Sonko and the rejection of his application to stand in the presidential election (AC Vol 64 No 19 Sall's 'safe choice' hits turbulence)...
On 5 January the Constitutional Court will rule on statements from 13 parliamentarians in support of the presidential candidacy of Ousmane Sonko leader of the officially dissolved Pastef Les Patriotes...
Khalifa Sall is also likely to benefit if as expected Ousmane Sonko nominally his partner in the Yewwi Askan Wi alliance is not allowed to stand (AC Vol 64 No 11 Sonko's trial is Sall's challenge)...