Senegal: Ousmane Sonko reaffirms his intention to run in all upcoming elections
During the day dedicated to the memory of the victims of the 2021 to 2024 protests, Ousmane Sonko chose to deliver an unambiguous political message.
The Prime Minister and leader of PASTEF told his supporters that no maneuver could prevent him from taking part in the 2029 presidential election or in other upcoming ballots.
Facing a crowd won over to his cause, Ousmane Sonko declared that his candidacy would not be contested.
The occasion allowed him to rule out any possibility of ineligibility, a debate that has resurfaced in recent weeks. He urged his supporters to be wary of any attempt to exploit the situation or spread political disinformation.
“Nothing can prevent me from being a candidate,” he said, adding that the decision to run is his alone.
Following his speech, the Prime Minister reaffirmed his intention to take part in all upcoming electoral events. He tried to dispel doubts, insisting that no one and no circumstance could strip him of that right. His statements come in a political climate where his legal situation continues to raise questions.
The six-month suspended prison sentence and two hundred million CFA francs fine for defamation, handed down definitively by the Supreme Court in July, had led to his exclusion from the 2024 presidential race. His party then put forward the candidacy of Bassirou Diomaye Faye, his closest collaborator.
Ousmane Sonko also used the day of commemoration to announce the official relaunch of PASTEF’s activities. The party foresees a congress in April and a resumption of national tours. He said the departmental structures would handle the organization, confident in his activists’ ability to remobilize the whole country.
This relaunch is accompanied by a clarification aimed at certain political actors whom he accuses of diverting popular anger to shift the blame onto him.
He finally urged PASTEF members to stay the course on the movement’s initial objectives. According to him, the political scene remains marked by calculation and fear, two behaviors he considers incompatible with the party’s ambitions. His remarks resonate as a desire to take back control of the public debate, as Senegal’s political calendar gradually enters a new phase of reconfiguration.
This stance confirms that the political battle over his eligibility, still heated, will continue to fuel the national debate in the coming months.
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