Senegalese authorities have refused to add opposition leader Ousmane Sonko onto the nation’s electoral roll even after a court ruled he should be reinstated, Sonko’s lawyers said.
According to an emailed statement, a representative for the opposition leader was also denied entrance to the General Directorate of Elections to gather the sponsorship forms required for Sonko’s candidacy.
Sonko was reinstated to the Senegalese electoral roll last week by a Senegalese court, allowing him to run for president in the February elections.
Sonko, 49, has been embroiled in a months-long legal fight since the authorities withdrew him from the voting roll following his conviction in absentia for morally corrupting a minor.
He was found guilty on 1st June of debauching a minor and sentenced to two years in prison.
He refused to attend the trial and was sentenced in absentia.
He was imprisoned at the end of July on other charges, including calling for insurrection, criminal association in connection with a terrorist undertaking and undermining state security.
He denounced all these cases as a plot to prevent him from taking part in the presidential election, which the government denies.
Candidates for the Feb. 25 election have until Dec. 26 to submit their applications to the Constitutional Council, which is in charge of verifying and approving candidacies.
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