From Bloomberg
ByKatarina Hoije and Momar Niang
14 March 2023
As Senegal readies for an oil and gas boom, President Macky Sall is putting the country’s stability at risk by refusing to rule out running for a third term, according to his main political challenger.
Political tensions have risen since the ruling Benno Bokk Yakaar alliance had its parliamentary majority reduced to one seat in a legislative vote in July. Ousmane Sonko, leader of the opposition African Patriots of Senegal for Work, Ethics and Fraternity, or Pastef-Patriotes in French, has been charged with rape in what he says is a case designed to prevent him from running in elections next year. He’s also being sued for defamation in a lawsuit that could see him barred.
While Senegal has never suffered a military coup since independence from France in 1960, unlike many in the region, there’s been political unrest in the past. Sall’s rise to power in 2012 came on the back of nationwide protests against then-president Abdoulaye Wade’s attempt to run for a third term, which is barred by the constitution.
It’s up to the president to “deescalate the situation,” Sonko, 48, said in a March 10 interview in the Senegalese capital, Dakar, referencing deadly riots in March 2021 that followed his arrest for allegedly sexually assaulting and threatening a beauty salon employee. “Let’s hope the actors can come to their senses before we cross the red line.”
Sall, 61, won a run-off vote after the Constitutional Court of Senegal ruled that Wade was allowed to stand because his first term didn’t count under the new constitution
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