June 22 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Senegalese authorities have prohibited the demonstrations called by the opposition in the capital, Dakar, on the occasion of the social protests that ask the president of the country, Macky Sall, not to stand in the next elections, as well as the release of the opposition leader Ousmane Sonko.
The prefect of Dakar, Mor Talla Tine, has opposed the demonstrations scheduled for this Friday and Sunday, citing reasons such as “risk of disturbing public order”, “obstruction of the free movement of people and goods”, or “risk of infiltration”.
It is not the first time that Tine has taken this measure, since it also prevented demonstrations during the second weekend of June, in a call from the F24 platform, which criticizes the arrest of more than 700 people in the previous demonstrations and to continue demanding to the president who does not appear in the elections.
The Senegalese opposition coalition Yewwi Askan Wi has called a march for next Sunday June 25 to “visit Ousmane Sonko” to “free him from this incomprehensible blockade.” The leader of the Republican Party for Progress, Déthié Fall, appealed “to all who believe in this coalition”, expressing his wish that “an impressive number of people” come together to “free one of the leaders most decisive in the country and remove the barricades”.
Sonko, leader of the Patriots of Senegal (PASTEF) party, has spent years denouncing that he is the victim of political persecution by order of the country’s president, Macky Sall, which has resulted in several cases against him.
Tension in the country peaked at the beginning of the month, with the death of more than 15 people after Sonko was sentenced to two years in prison for “corruption of youth” in the framework of a process for alleged rape and threats of death, charges that were ultimately dismissed.
The opposition has denounced on several occasions that Sall plans to run for a third term. The Senegalese Constitution limits the total number of terms to two and an attempt to extend his stay in power could lead to instability, although the president has defended that it would be legal for him to appear at the polls, a point that he has not yet confirmed. .