The Senegalese President, Macky Sall, asked his government to apply immediately after it is promulgated a recent amnesty law likely to benefit one of the main candidates in the presidential election of March 24, imprisoned, indicates a press release released on the evening of Wednesday March 13. Enactment is expected imminently. No official information has been provided as to the timing of its publication, which would result in its implementation.
Since the adoption of this law last week, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, anti-system presidential candidate, and his leader, Ousmane Sonko, also detained, have been presented as the main potential beneficiaries. Uncertainty remains as to whether they would fall within the scope of the law. But unconfirmed reports abound of a release that could strongly influence the dynamics of the campaign.
President Sall asked the government on Wednesday to “proceed without delay with the application of the amnesty law as soon as it is promulgated”, indicates a press release from the Council of Ministers published in the evening.
Mr. Sonko, the main actor in a two-year standoff with power and justice, has been imprisoned since July 2023. A declared presidential candidate, he was disqualified by the Constitutional Council in January. His camp designated with his consent his second, Mr. Faye, although detained since April 2023, to replace him in the election. Mr. Faye has been prevented from making his case to voters in person since the campaign opened on March 9.
